The Disappearance and Captivity of Daphne Grimm
by limegreenwordmachine
Summary: At the height of the war against the Scarlet Hand, Daphne is kidnapped. The Grimms can save either Daphne or themselves - is there any way out? Epilogue is up. It's been good, friends. 2013 NOTE: This story was started approximately 3 years ago. It was my first. Please judge it accordingly :)
1. The Disappearance

"No, Elvis. We can't go out today," Relda said gently to the Great Dane at her feet, or rather, her waist. The huge dog groaned in an irritated way; he seemed like a great big child who had been denied the opportunity to play on a sunny day.

Sabrina and Daphne sat in their respective places on the couch, immersed in the most illogical books known to man. Or at least a man who didn't live in Ferryport Landing. Their latest case involved tracking magical weapons for Charming's beaten and under-supplied army in the huge war against the devious, despicable Scarlet Hand. They had read of everything from genies' lamps to potions that sounded like something straight out of a Harry Potter book. However, few items of actual use were to be found.

Sabrina wasn't someone who particularly enjoyed Everafter detective work, but in this case she held deep purpose. She had not forgiven that scoundrel Mirror, who was still inside the Book of Everafter, and didn't plan on it anytime soon. The Hand had torn Daphne's and her life apart, taking her parents and even her small brother (still in the hands of Mirror), and she had a tight grudge against the scoundrels the Grimms were fighting. She hadn't stopped researching for a moment since William Charming, aka the Handsome Prince, Prince Charming, and ex-Mayor of Ferryport Landing, had sent his urgent request for the Grimm family to put their skills to work and find some major butt-kicking equipment. Sabrina had jumped at the chance to be of any specific use to the top secret Everafter militia.

Daphne, however, was not of the longest attention span to grace an eight year old, and was tired of research, bored and cooped up inside the house. Granny Relda, Veronica, Henry, Uncle Jake, and even Puck and Sabrina had reminded her time and time again that she was to remain hidden in the house. Not only did the Hand lurk around unknown corners but the weather was bad, too.

As Relda walked upstairs to join the other adults and Puck in afternoon napping, Daphne stood up, stretched, yawned, and trudged to the hall. She considered joining the rest of the family and dozing off, because there seemed to be nothing else to do, but then realized that an opportunity lay in front of her eyes.

The front door was right there.

No one else was interested in her whereabouts for the moment.

Elvis was tense, too, so she decided that a few minutes out there in the yard with Elvis wouldn't kill her.

She silently swung the door ajar.

*

The Sheriff of Nottingham sat, camouflaged by the cover of the dead February trees. The Scarlet Hand had one mission: escape Ferryport Landing. And without the Grimms dead, that wasn't happening. So naturally, his biggest priority was to catch and execute all the Grimms. But the nearly impenetrable spells guarding the family dwelling on that isolated hill were keeping his whole military force back, so while he worked on a solution with evil Mayor Heart and the Master, they were off attempting to hold off that stupid Charming's own forces. He staked out the house day and night, morning and afternoon, breakfast through dinner.

The monotony of the stakeout was interrupted by the bright red door finally opening. Nottingham's senses were at full alert, the angry scar down his face pulsing with anticipation. He let loose a cruel, cartoon-ish smile, not unlike that of an evil circus clown. Well, hello there! The littlest of the Grimm brats, the one with the dark braided hair, was descending the steps into the wintry mud.

It was all falling into place. Retrieve the girl, use her as bait, trap and murder the Grimms. Yes, Nottingham was a man with a plan.

*

Daphne sloshed through the mud as Elvis lifted his leg to relieve himself. Suddenly, though, he lowered his leg slowly and sniffed the wind. Daphne noticed him baring his teeth and heard him let loose a low, deadly growl, which was not a habit of his. She felt a twinge of nervousness, an anxious warning deep in her very skin that seemed to herald the arrival of evil in her vicinity.

She called Elvis frantically, racing toward the porch steps on her short, stocky little legs. Before she had both feet on the first stair, she heard a piercing, bone-chilling bark and the sound of Elvis's collar jingling.

She felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, a horrible, piercing ache for one second, and then she was limp, shrouded in oblivion.


	2. Daphne's Gone

Sabrina Grimm stood up, put down her book, stretched long and hard, and trudged into the kitchen. She removed a single stick of string cheese, and froze for a moment. She had been sure she had heard a muffled scream…

Oh, well. Sabrina had a tendency to be paranoid, anyway. She continued to munch on her cheese, still feeling as if something was out of place in the atmosphere. She finished her snack and went back for another, hoping she could avoid Granny Relda's dinners by early snacking.

She felt like a girl in a horror movie, for some unknown reason. There was something that seemed to lurk beneath the ordinary (or not so ordinary) surface of the Grimm house, but she continued to shrug off the mysterious foreshadowing of disaster. She finally left the kitchen after several simple morsels, creaked up the old stairs, and passed several bedroom doors which emitted the sounds of snoring, except for Puck's. His room held the sounds of late-afternoon cricket chirping, due to the fact that it was more of a wonderland than a bedroom.

She opened the door to her room, expecting to find Daphne asleep on the double bed with the faded pink sheets, mouth open and drooling. But the bed was empty – still made up, even. Where was Daphne, then? Her mind flashed back to the scream, filling her with panic. Calming her momentary fear, she embarked on a search through the house. After all, her sister was most likely in the library, or one of the other numerous rooms in the house. Or in the now guardian-less magic mirror, though without the keys, she wasn't going to get far in there. Sabrina still felt the sense that something was surreptitiously out of place, so she embarked on a thorough search of the house. When Daphne didn't turn up in the living room, the kitchen, the library, any of the bathrooms, the many closets, the attic, or even the currently forbidden outdoors, she began to truly worry and checked cabinets, behind furniture, Daphne-sized trunks, and even called softly into her sleeping family's rooms. Finally there was one room left to check.

Tentatively she cracked the door, watching for attached contraptions which would induce results requiring the work of a shower to fix. Seeing no one but the sleeping Everafter fairy Puck on his trampoline, she gingerly picked her way around empty quart containers of ice cream, bizarrely shaped miniature rockets, and bits of exploded glop grenade shell. She hurried to reach the trampoline and shook Puck awake roughly.

"Listen, I can't find Daph," she said. "Have you seen her?"

"Marshmallow? Nope. Can I go back to sleep now?" he replied, uninterested in typical Puck fashion.

"Well, can you at least help me find her?"

"Sure, right after I beat the eggs, bake the pie, vacuum the floor, and haul the water from the well," Puck said mockingly. "Do I look like a servant?"

"This is hopeless," said Sabrina, slumping to the ground. "She's not anywhere in the house!"

Puck's expression dramatically altered. He stared briefly into space, then blew a few notes, high and bright, through his little flute. Minute blue pixies flew to the source of the sound.

"Check the premises for the Marshmallow," he said.

"Wake the Old Lady and the rest of the grown-ups," he said, turning to Sabrina. "We have a problem."

*

The assembled adults of the Grimm house gathered in the living room. Relda guessed that something was wrong from the deathly grim expression on Puck's face.

She felt a twinge of worry cross her heart with a slash like a knife.

"Okay," Puck started. "We have an emergency. The Marshmallow" – he paused and Sabrina whispered something in his ear – "and Elvis," he continued, "are nowhere in the house," his voice cracked. Relda stared; had Puck really revealed concern for the child…and the dog? Wait, where had Daphne gone? Oh, no. That was her little granddaughter. One of the best parts of getting up in the morning was knowing the task of caring for her two granddaughters, one cheery and excitable and one headstrong and determined, awaited. Oh, what if the little one was really gone? How would she forgive herself? And Elvis, her loyal friend for so many years? Oh, how she would hate for them to be hurt.

"We checked everywhere," said Sabrina shakily, attempting to keep herself together, but obviously falling apart at the seams. "The only place she could be is outside. We already know the Scarlet Hand scopes us out day and night," she continued, voice growing stronger, "and what if they kidnapped her or hurt her?"

"Calm down, 'Brina," Jake said firmly. "I bet she's just somewhere around here and hasn't come out yet."

"OH YEAH? That's my sister! And I know that awful people are after her, after all of us! You know it too; you know that if she steps outside the_ door_ she could be in mortal danger! Do not tell me to CALM DOWN!!"

No one even told Sabrina to get a hold on her anger. The room fell silent.

Relda felt that for once, just this once, Sabrina was not going to be told she was overreacting, because everyone in that deathly silent room was forced to face the truth; if Daphne had snuck outside, she really was in mortal danger. There was no 'she'll turn up somewhere' in these dangerous times.

Jake, Henry, and Veronica sat white faced and submissive. Puck had jumped back at Sabrina's outburst, and stood with his eyes downcast.

Sabrina stood in the middle of the room, tears streaming down her face.

Daphne couldn't be kidnapped, or dead. She just couldn't.

Their worst fears were confirmed when, in a rash and dangerous attempt to discover clues to Daphne's whereabouts, they tentatively stepped outside for the briefest second. A note had been taped to the porch railing, the boundary of the spell preventing the entrance of trespassers.

_Dearest Grimms, _read the note.

_Your precious brat has been abducted by myself on behalf of the Scarlet Hand. She is safe – but not for long. We expect a payment for her safe return. You must give yourselves up to our army. We will not hesitate to exact punishment from our executioner should she be left in our care for more than three days. If three days' time has passed and she has not been paid for, you will know that it is too late – she will have fallen prey to the sword._

_ P.S. Your dog is also in grave danger – one hundred bucks if you want him, too._

_Your beloved Sheriff of Nottingham_

Henry let out a scream of painful anger, an unworldly fury that certainly could not have been generated by anything but an anguished human heart.

"We have to find her and get her back! That's my little girl!" he shouted. Veronica hung her head, saying absolutely nothing.

"Henry!" said Jake. "You can't go after her! It's so obviously a trap! He wants to murder us – and the only way to actually save her right now is to give ourselves up for just that – murder. Besides, you can't trust them. They'll kill her as soon as we're dead. Anyway, she'd be no better off without anyone to care for her than she would be dead." Here Jake paused, breathing hard.

Henry shared the look on Veronica's and Relda's faces. A red faced look of tears stained their cheeks, agony showing in their eyes. Sabrina turned her back to everyone, shoulders slumped. She would have been the first to give her life for Daphne. All through the ghastly experiences they had endured during the time Veronica and Henry had been held as captives of the Hand, Daphne had been her one reason to survive. To fight.

Relda wanted to mention that Elvis, too, was gone. But that made everything seem much worse.

*

Sabrina fell on the floor of her room, head buried in her knees. She felt like a sad turtle, curled up to hide from the world.

The door softly opened. Puck walked in.

He sat down beside Sabrina. He said nothing.

Despite her long history of mostly downs with Puck, despite the fact that he was mostly responsible for her anger in the past five months, and despite the fact that his hoodie was literally encrusted with yard dirt, she turned, buried her face in his shoulder, and wept.

She wept for herself, her parents, Uncle Jake, Granny Relda, and most of all, Daphne. Where was she sleeping tonight? Was she going to bed with an empty stomach? On hard ground? In the cold? Her poor, poor, poor little sister.

She suddenly grabbed Puck around the neck and sobbed harder and louder, till she began to shake. All he could think of to do was hug her back.

They fell asleep like that.


	3. In Captivity

**Okay, here it is. The third chapter **** It's kinda long, because I ended up deciding it was too short and combining it with the next chapter after that. Another plus: I figured out how to write A/Ns! Okay, enjoy the chap.**

DPOV

Daphne Grimm awoke to find herself in a place that reeked of despair, evil, and Mayor Heart's feet. Daphne was just guessing on the latter element. A wave of utter hopelessness seemed to permeate the very fabric of time and space, though that might have been her imagination.

Unfortunately, when her eyes opened and her mind no longer lay dormant, she was not granted that last peaceful minute after someone wakes in a strange place when one typically wonders where they are and why they are there. Her head instead skipped straight to the horrible moment when the displaced person would realize their misfortune.

Since she had the bad luck to have been attacked from behind, she lacked any kind of confirmation about who her captor was or where they might have taken her in her period of unconsciousness. Poor Daphne was probably lucky not to know that either she would have to die, or her family would. That night was particularly hard on her little heart, because she lacked even the quiet, angry determination of her sister beside her, like she usually had when they got into a pickle.

She fell back into restless sleep on the dusty floor, to the rhythm of her throbbing head synchronized with her heart's melancholy beat.

SPOV

Sabrina woke, still hugging Puck, still on her floor, still in her room, still in her own shoes, figuratively and literally. She very much would've liked to be in someone else's shoes at that moment, perhaps Daphne's. Maybe then she'd be dead, or unconscious, or still unknowing as to what was coming to her. Unfortunately, she knew very well what was to become of her. She was going to die.

"No," they'd say. "We won't let you! They'll just kill us if we turn ourselves in!" Sabrina realized that. She knew that either way Daphne had to die, that she wouldn't be spared for any price. It was all a plot to free the Hand. She was totally aware of that. But, she thought, what kind of people would they be if they didn't give their greatest efforts to free Daphne before they died? If they wouldn't try to rescue her little sister, she very well would. And since turning herself in would be of no help, Sabrina would simply have to conduct her attempt by force. She had no idea how, but every fiber in her body screamed that she had to try. Be it futile, be it difficult, be what may. She would fight with all the power and the anger and all the ferocity she was capable of mustering.

Right about the time she came to this conclusion, Puck began to stir, and it dawned on her how completely humiliating and unnatural a position she was in. She pulled away quickly, immediately regretting, in that tiny little part of her that didn't always despise Puck, the loss of warmth and comfort. She climbed under her covers and buried her head in the pillow that was usually Daphne's to use. It still smelled like her sister, a sort of childish, oatmeal-and-strawberries-and-milk smell. Sweet and fresh and mealy and fruity all at once. Very Daphne.

It took several hours to develop a plan. Sabrina tested every battle strategy she knew and hypothesized about every obstacle she could possibly come to face. For every ounce of her being that knew she could not succeed (although at this point she was beginning to question whether she might not have a chance), there was another that wanted to give her all to try. She wanted to die in the midst of something big and purposeful. Daphne's and Elvis's lives were a more than high enough purpose.

When finally she was almost ready to go, it was midnight. She packed a bagful of simple foods (raisins, French hamburger rolls, and several peanut butter crackers) and snagged several weapons from the magic mirror, including a sword, a tranquilizer gun, and three pocketknives of varying sizes. She thought very seriously about bringing a real gun, because she genuinely felt like taking lives. However, she decided against it, because a) it would be inconveniently loud, and b) she was twelve and not too keen on becoming a murderer just before she would be judged. Sabrina did believe there was a God, after all. She also grabbed a magic wand, after some debate. It had been retrieved after the death of the old witch Baba Yaga, and she realized it could save her life. The one catch was that her addiction to magic had a horrific tendency to lower her caution, due to the fact that it instilled a false sense of invincibility in her. Still, she thought, better careless and armed than cautious and absolutely vulnerable to magic. The wand would give her the option to fight fire with fire, or in this case magic with magic. Despite all her caution (she picked it up with her winter gloves to prevent it from touching her skin and setting off her addiction) she felt a light tingle run up her spine and it took considerable strength to stow it safely in her bag.

After the basics, she packed her favorite book, beat up and worn, and one photograph of her family, taken after her parents had awoken. The fort walls behind them were gray and blank, in great contrast to their dimpled smiles. Now those smiles seemed haunting, considering she might never see them again...

After she established a state of total preparedness, she had one last task to attend to. The matter of telling her family was the one that nagged at her heart the most. To die so soon after her parents had finally awoken – this didn't sit too well with her. So, to maybe let them know why she had to do this, she had decided on the runaways' method of all the runaways in her favorite books – a note. Or rather- note_s, _plural. In addition to one note for all, she had written a special farewell message to each member of the family.

Her first note read:

_ I have gone to rescue Daphne (and Elvis, I guess) – or at least to die trying. I love you all (yes, I know what you're thinking, and yes, I do mean ALL of you. In the family way). I know I can't win, but I also know that I wouldn't be able to live happily ever after with the knowledge that I didn't even try. So I'm going to try. Don't hate me. Don't get angry, don't point fingers. Don't spend the last days of my life arguing about why I did this and whose fault it was. This is my decision. I have so much more to say, but for now all I have time for is goodbye. I've left each of you a special message._

To Granny Relda: _Thank you for watching out for Daphne and me. I'll miss you. I'm sorry that you have to lose both of us – and Elvis, to complete the picture. I know I wasn't always the best granddaughter, but you were a wonderful grandmother. It's wonderful to know that when you get my brother back, he'll have such fabulous person for a grandmother._

To her mother:_ I love you so much. I hate to do this to you, but I can't let her go without a fight. We've fought too hard to stay together to be separated now. I hate that the last two years were wasted, only to wake up and deal with this. Don't let them win. Keep fighting, and remember you still have my little brother. Save him, please._

To her father:_ I wish I didn't have to leave you like this. I'm sorry you fought so hard to keep us safe and only for this to happen. Please don't try to come after me. It won't do anything; I have to do this. Love you._

To Uncle Jake: _I'm glad we got some time to know each other. Love you. Remember to keep fighting; if not for me, then for Briar. This war has to be won or Daphne and I will have died for no reason (well, Daphne has no reason to die anyway). I have to take a stand and prove that they can't crush me and I have to try for Daphne. Remember why we have to win._

And finally, to Puck:_ I'm sorry I have to do this. I guess you're glad to be rid of me, huh? I have to admit, despite the pranks day after day after DAY, you've pulled through several times. I know you want to be a villain, but let's face it; you're a hero. A pretty good one, too. We endangered out butts to save your life once, so don't go ruining it and die on everybody. Keep on fighting. _

_P.S. The twenty bucks and the Hershey bar in my top left desk drawer are yours._

She laid these notes on her bed, crept across the floor, and opened the door to the hallway. From there to the front door, Sabrina Grimm began the first day of what she knew to be the end of her life.

**Okay, there we are! I enjoyed writing this one a lot, so I hope you liked it. Anyway. I has been writin' lots-o-chapters in my spare time, so I can probably post another one later today. If not, then one will be up tomorrow.**

**If you liked it (or if you didn't) hit the green button and tell me, for cryin' out loud.**


	4. The Second Discovery

**Here we are, already at chapter four! And I just posted this yesterday. Before we begin, I would like to thank Mackenzie for reviewing. It's been extremely encouraging to know that someone is following the story.**

**In my first three chapters, I noticed that I forgot to add a disclaimer. So here it is:**

**I do not own The Sisters Grimm. The series belongs to Michael Buckley. I also do not own a swimming pool or Fang or a mansion. There are a lot of things that I don't own **** but I own this story. So there ya go.**

* * *

PPOV

When Puck woke up the next morning, early for a change, he decided to venture to the kitchen in the hopes that there would be some leftover chocolate cake from the birthday party Relda had insisted on throwing for Elvis last week. His thoughts were always clearer after food, and there was a lot of thinking to be commenced. Sabrina would probably yell at him for being "insensitive," thinking of sweets at a time like this. Oh well. He found the final piece of chocolate cake, with hardened icing and slightly tough innards, housed in the refrigerator. Much better.

Usually, he would spend this time planning devious methods of infuriating Sabrina to her wit's end. He did love to watch her explode. However, he missed Marshmallow, and he wasn't the type to let his friend, family member even, die. These Grimms always needed saving – from Jabberwockies, from evil organizations, from egotistical giant slayers. The list was incessant. He saw it as his duty to serve them as a bodyguard; whether or not he was a villain, he was most definitely a person who kept his word. And he was determined to find a way out of this situation.

As he nibbled the cake, the family entered the kitchen for breakfast. The old lady came first. She started the electric griddle and poured pancake mix on the piping hot surface. They were regular pancakes, he noticed, made with store-bought mix and not a wild recipe she had found on her grand world tour with her husband. He had noticed that she only cooked regular food when she was distraught.

Soon Jake, Henry, and Veronica followed. He felt kind of weird, being the only kid in the room – or the only one who looked like a kid anyway. He happened to be four thousand years old. Anyway, where was Grimm? She wasn't down for breakfast. He knew if she got a whiff of the average pancakes she would blitz down the stairs like a racecar on grease. Usually, that was. However, those days of hectic activity and childhood were gone. The last little bit of Sabrina's holding onto normalcy had gone with the wind the moment Daphne had stepped out of the house.

As if Jake had read his mind, he said, "Where's 'Brina?"

Relda shook her head sorrowfully. Henry raised his bloodshot eyes, the eyes of a man who has been ripped into little pieces. Veronica mumbled, "She's still upstairs, I guess." She rose to awaken her daughter.

"Wait," Puck said, suddenly. "Let her rest. I guess she's had a hard time, losing her sister and all." This comment did nothing to improve the current state of social interaction at the table, where the fairy and his adult companions were picking at pancakes. The glutton formerly known as Puck, surprisingly, could not choke down a single solitary bite of the Bisquick-based cakes laid on the plate before him. Truth be told, he missed the Marshmallow. While typically insensitive and quite irritating, he had the potential to understand sadness. Actually, he not only felt sadness; he felt as though he had experienced a fist to the stomach. He sullenly nibbled a bite of burnt, syrup-less pancake, which was tainted by the slight taste of salt. He realized that tears were streaming down his cheeks. He had only cried once before since he'd come to Ferryport Landing; the only one who had seen was Sabrina. He looked up and realized that they were all staring at one another, crying. Tears were wetting the pancakes like so many little waterfalls had decided to fall to the table. Henry, bitter Henry, was turning red.

It was very, very sad, Puck realized, and not only because Daphne was gone, most likely forever. It was unfair that while an ordinary family might have been able to put their lives on hold and grieve, the Grimms could never stop to let go and remember. They would be forced to continue holding the enemy at bay, never breaking their stead. They could not afford to let down their guard.

Suddenly, the strangest thing happened. Veronica Grimm looked each one straight in the eye, and broke into a smile. She sat there, crying and smiling at the very same time.

"Why, Veronica? What on earth do we have left to smile about?" Henry asked.

"Daphne would never want us to be sad. She would want us to keep going, if she were here," Jake said, understanding as though he possessed telepathy. "It's like with Briar. She would have wanted us to fight, not quit because she died." Still, Jake didn't smile. He remained quiet and broken, like several pieces of broken person had been placed in his seat. He had lost so much in just the past two months.

Veronica nodded, but obviously she could not hold up the façade of strength for her lost child. Her face once again crumbled in submission to the monster hanging over the table.

The strangest thing, Puck realized, was Sabrina's behavior. Normally she would have entered a stage of vehement denial and run off to face the crisis alone…

A feeling of pure panic pervaded his stomach as he stood up, shoved back his chair, and raced at top speed up the stairs to Sabrina's room.

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**(You, however, Mackenzie, are exempt. You reviewed twice! Thanks again by the way.)**


	5. Still Alive

**Chapter Five, here we go! Okay, one thing before we get started:**

**I have checked my traffic stats, and 52 PEOPLE HAVE VIEWED THIS STORY. I'VE ONLY GOTTEN FIVE REVIEWS, and one of them was from my mom, so it doesn't really count. She only read it cuz I asked her to, anyway. My three (one reviewed twice) non-Mother reviewers have been:**

**missdean**

**dreamgreen16**

**Mackenzie (who reviewed twice.)**

**So thanks, guys. You are one in a million. Or, more precisely, three in 52.**

SPOV

Sabrina had walked all night. She had calculated that if it took about a half an hour to walk a full mile, and the town was approximately fourteen miles across, then it would take her six to eight hours to walk across town. That was just if she walked nonstop at a steady pace. Luckily, she only needed to reach the center of town, near the river and all of the buildings formerly containing businesses. The square was the headquarters of the Scarlet Hand, and Sabrina was positive that Daphne had been thrown into an empty cell in the jail. She was capable of reaching the center of town in a mere two hours, but it was now morning, and she had no desire to be discovered due to strolling in broad daylight.

She set up a camp in the shadowy woods with the blankets from her backpack, using the now slightly less heavy pack as her pillow. _Home sweet home_, she thought with a chuckle. She had lain down to sleep on the damp soil till dark when she heard a sound – like colossal feet pulverizing dead leaves. In a panic, she hurriedly grabbed the Wand of Merlin. She almost dropped it at the sudden feeling of electric charge that raced down her spine. Despite the blatant signs of her addiction to magic, she pointed the wand at herself and her possessions and whispered, "Give me some invisibility!" Relief flooded her churning stomach as she saw her legs under the blankets disappear with a ripple. Sabrina lay back down, flat. Her heartbeat began to sprint as she heard the creature approach.

DPOV

Daphne was still on the floor of the strange room. She had not been given anything edible that morning, and she throbbed with the pinching pangs of hunger. She was accustomed to three square meals a day, with seconds, and she had not had a blessed thing in her stomach since yesterday afternoon.

She was bound with rope and set on the floor in a dark, musty room, alone. She had never been more terrified. She had drifted in and out of sleep while her aching head throbbed, as the hard blow that had thrown her into unconsciousness remained a ghostly presence through her captivity. Daphne had seen on TV somewhere that if you got hit on the head you could get a concrussion (or was it compussion?) or whatever it was called. She had also seen the doctor telling the man with the head problem to try not to sleep for a while, she thought. Or maybe that was a different movie. But she still thought that maybe she shouldn't sleep for a while. So she had tried with all her might to stay awake, but she was sleepy and undernourished at the moment. She was incapable of resisting the urge to close her eyes and sleep, when perhaps she wouldn't feel the hunger and the fear and the loneliness that accompanied her solitude. By now it was too late to even try, because she had already dozed off. Her nightmares seemed amplified by a million.

_Visions of her mother and her father danced before her eyes, but something about them was off. Something was terribly wrong. Then came the haunted, gray faces of Sabrina and Puck. Relda and Canis appeared as well. Daphne couldn't put her finger on it – what was wrong with them? She then realized that her beloved family was weeping. It brought tears to her own eyes to see them crying like that._

Daphne immediately discovered the identity of her captor when Nottingham busted the door open with a bang approximately two hours later. Being the cruel, vicious villain that he happened to be, he began ranting victoriously at poor Daphne, scar throbbing and dagger in hand. "Your family will try to come save you, but they will fail…you're as good as dead…you couldn't have avoided the Master for long! The Hand is unstoppable…"

_Bullcrap_, she thought, thinking of a word she had once overheard Sabrina use.

Quite frankly, if she had not been scared out of whatever wits she had left from yesterday's terrible afternoon, she would have been utterly bored. An eight-year-old can only take so much adult ranting. Unfortunately, she _was _scared out of her wits. Boredom was basically not an option.

Now Daphne began to question her surroundings. She knew this place was familiar…the rich red carpet, white pillars visible outside the window, and grand staircase showing from the open doorway reminded her of a grand mansion.

With a burst of recognition, she realized that she was being kept in the mayoral mansion. From the narrow range of visibility through the doorway and the bit of light illuminating her own prison, she noticed that every crack and crevice seemed to be coated with bloody handprints. She figured it was most likely red paint, but a part of her writhed with disgust at the faint coppery smell of blood. Perhaps some of the red substance was not paint. As she continued to have her mini-epiphanies, a sudden sentence made her draw in her breath sharply.

"…Your family is coming to die for you!"

_No. No. NO_! Her heart skipped several beats and a red haze pervaded her mind. "Of course, we'll kill you after they're dead. Then the barrier will fall…"

Nottingham's malevolent smugness was evident from the very gleam of his eyes.

Oh, Daphne thought, surely they wouldn't be so dumb as to come after her and die. Please don't let them be that dumb. I'll die if I have to, she thought. And in that instant, she realized that that was what would happen. The Scarlet Hand was going to murder her.

Sabrina could still hear the creature approaching. She slowed her breathing, stilled her twitching fingers, and waited for the heavy footsteps to turn away. To her dismay, they did not slow, or turn away, or turn out to be some ordinary woodland animal. The creature drew nearer and nearer. The crushing footsteps grew louder and louder, till they were deafening crunches. Sabrina was reminded of the sound of snapping bones. Ten full minutes had passed before she caught sight of the creature: a long, plump silver dragon with flaming nostrils and coal-black claws loomed above her face. Its malicious eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

She quivered in fear and the creature let loose a low, rumbling chuckle, like a mountain of boulders was crashing to the ground. "Oh, you naive child," it rumbled. Sabrina could feel the intense heat from its fiery breath on her face. "I cannot see you, but I can smell you." Sabrina's organs revolted, and a throbbing lump rose in the back of her throat.

_Oh, the irony,_ she thought. _Just as I set out to rescue my sister I'm going to get toasted to a crisp._ Unfortunately, the sarcasm could not mask from her the thick blanket of fear that fell over her head, making her entire body writhe with terror.

_Goodbye, world_, she thought, as the dragon reared back its ugly head and opened its deathly mouth to roast her.

**Cliffhanger! Keep reading to see what happens next. And review! Remember that IF YOU READ THIS STORY I NEED YOU TO REVIEW!**


	6. Saved

**Oh dear, Tazzy. I guess I'm predictable…and Mackenzie, you're most certainly welcome. I'd say I owe you guys shout outs, because if nobody bothered to read the story it wouldn't be worth writing. And I'm squealing right now, because I'm a Lara D fan. It's amazing that you think I'm good at this! Thanks to everybody.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Sisters Grimm. If I did, my life would be a heck of a lot cooler. But it's not. So I don't. However, I do own a cat (or the cat owns me) and her name is Scarlett. She rubs her lips against all my books and once ate my brother's homework. Thank you, Scarlett. **_

Sabrina was closing her eyes tight and hoping for a quick end when a voice rang through the forest, loud and clear.

"Oh, you stupid creature. You've attacked Grimm, who is under the protection of the fierce, the terrible, the villainous Trickster King, leader of ne'er-do-wells and master of mischief-makers. Now you're going to regret it."

Sabrina had never been so overjoyed to see Puck's green hoodie and impish smile. She turned her head to the side and grinned from ear to ear. He stood at the edge of the clearing, feet firmly planted and fists on his hips. Puck raced toward the dragon and began to poke and prod at the nightmarish creature's nearly impenetrable hide. The dragon's face held an expression of serpentine amusement. It took about five minutes for amusement to grow into annoyance, and five minutes for annoyance to develop signs of acute irritation. The creature began to shoot hot flames at Puck, who flew about to dodge the killer exhalations.

Puck taunted and teased, flitting madly to and fro as the dragon ignited the trees with its breath. He could not manage to inflict any damage with his little wooden sword, and gradually grew impatient and more determined. He slapped and jabbed. He shattered some of the thick silver scales, now glinting orange in the firelight. He dodged every burst of flame, though one leg of his filthy jeans was singed. Still, the dragon prevailed at keeping her one lifeline at bay. The little game of cat-and-mouse became a full-fledged battle. After about half an hour, the forest around Sabrina was a ring of fire and Puck's eyes were glinting with frustration.

She grew increasingly nervous as Puck continued to test logic and the patience of the dragon. Its breaths became harsher, more powerful. Between the dragon's torrid breathing and the spreading fire, Sabrina was forced to pack up her camp and take care to keep her feet out of the conflagration that now dominated the landscape.

She was standing stock-still in the center of one of the last unclaimed patches of ground when Puck fell from the sky. His eyes began to close to slits, his breathing slowed. He coughed and sputtered as sparks flew like fireworks. The scene remotely resembled a deadly fireworks show. The dragon, as dragons are never ones for a fair fight, reared its head on its gleaming, snake-like neck and opened its mouth for the final flames. Sabrina stood, frozen by the immense terror of imminent death, as the terrible flames . With the last of his reserve of strength, Puck took in hand his wooden sword and hurled it at the dragon's ugly pie hole. It flew straight into the throat of the very surprised creature. The monster's eyes bulged wide, its cruel mouth snapping open and shut in hideous repetitions. It began to gasp and sputter wildly, until it too dropped to the ground amidst the flames. Its chest ceased to rise and fall, and Sabrina came to realize that it was dead. However, Puck would be too if she didn't retrieve him and move him away from the smoke and into fresh air.

She raced directly through the flames, praying that she herself would not suffocate or catch fire. She reached Puck and grabbed him under the arms, hoisting him up by the arms and dragging him as the deafening flames roared around the two of them. She hadn't the faintest idea how, but she was able to find the strength to run with her load, picking her way around fire and roots until she reached the edge of the forest, where the air was as of yet unpolluted and the greenery was not being charred to ash.

At first she worried that it was too late for the fairy. He remained unconscious and his breaths continued to be few and far-between. However, he gradually began to breathe normally and twitch here and there. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his curly hair, feeling soil and leaves in between the soft threads of dark blonde. After a time he opened his eyes and looked up at Sabrina's face. He smiled, and she realized how strange she must look, with her hair full of leaves and singed bits from where the fire had reached up to lick her face, her wild eyes full of rabid fear. She let her eyes take on a calmer expression as she was filled with relief. Relief at having lived, relief that she had managed to save Puck. He pushed the ground with his hands and sat up.

"Puck! You're okay!"

"In case you forgot, I'm an Everafter. It takes more than a little smoke to kill me. But still, I'm counting your eternal debt to me partially paid off, since you proved yourself useful."

She managed to crack a small, tense smile and nodded. She had no energy for a biting sarcastic remark. Truthfully, she felt like she was going to faint from exhaustion and hunger. "Why are you here?" she asked, fighting off the urge to consume her entire stash of food and lay down then and there for a nap. The sunlight fell down upon their faces as the sun rose higher and higher, casting midmorning light on the grass.

"I'm here because there was no way in hell I was just going to sit back and let you go get yourself killed, and then lose the free food and hotel service I get from the old lady. So I flew over here to rescue your sorry butt and drag you home for the umpteenth time."

"Puck," Sabrina countered. "If you were really that self-centered, you wouldn't have risked your life. Give me a real answer." She hadn't even realized how intensely she wanted the truth until she said it, out loud.

"That is a real answer."

"No, it's not. Admit it – you don't want me to die!"

"You know what? I think you want to believe I care. You do like me, don't you?"

A very awkward pause ensued.

"Okay. Fine," he said. "After spending a lifetime's worth of near-death experiences, I'm not that jazzed about the idea of you dying a fiery death. Okay?"

Sabrina smirked in spite of herself. Puck continued, wiping the smug expression off of her face. "You, however, seem to be extremely happy about the fact that I don't want you dead. I think that proves that you're not so indifferent, yourself."

She slugged him in the arm, all mushiness. "You should probably just go home now. I'm not going home, because I have an obligation to rescue Daphne. I don't care how impossible it is, I don't give a crap how powerful they are. I just want to die trying."

"I know," he replied. "That's why I'm coming too."

She desperately wanted to protest, but she knew that Puck could be a valuable asset to her mission. If he was around, she could travel faster, have someone to watch her back, and in case of dire injury, have someone around to get help. So she remained silent and clenched her jaw. After a few seconds' silence while staring each other down, she looked away and said, "Let's go find a safe place to make camp till dark. They'll be coming to put out the fire soon, anyway, and we can't be discovered."

They flew to a cave in close proximity to the center of town, just behind what had once been the suburbs of Ferryport Landing. Puck kept lookout while Sabrina curled up beside his knee.

"Thanks, Puck," she said. "This place is great…" she turned over and forced her eyes to close.

She looked terribly uncomfortable on the hard ground, he noticed. But slowly she drifted off with a pinched expression on her face. It bothered him for some unknown reason.

When he was sure she was asleep, he gently took her head and cushioned it in the crook of his arm, which rested on his lap. He used his other arm to reach under her and support her legs. _There, _he thought. _Now she doesn't look so uncomfortable._ Sabrina slept on, unaware.

** Well, that was chapter six. Chapter seven is currently underway, but I'm doing well with it so it should be up very soon. Like, maybe later today. Wow, this FF thing where you actually bother to keep up with your writing can get kind of hard. *wipes sweat off forehead with arm* Still, it's a lot cooler than sitting around and begging your dad for an account, and then writing stories and pretending you have readers when he says no. I'm random today, aren't I?**

** Click the green button. James the Vampire is getting hungry, and we know what happens when he gets hungry. *James does signature head-cocking action***


	7. Disaster Strikes

**Okay. Just finished this yesterday night, already have the next one in progress. Whew, can't believe I actually wrote seven chapters of anything! Thx again to my wonderful reviewers, and to answer Mackenzie's questions:**

**1. I'll probably write about twelve or thirteen chapters, but you never know. It could end up to be thirty-four and I just don't know it yet. Actually, I don't even know what happens in the second half of chapter eight, but I'm dying to find out!**

**2. I have one other fic posted as "Birthday Mishaps" under Maximum Ride. I lurve Maximum Ride. I also have another Max Ride story idea underway, but not finalized yet. **

SPOV

Sabrina woke up that evening wondering why the ground beneath her, supposedly made of rock, was so utterly soft. Her eyes opened slowly as she registered the reason she felt so comfortable; she was not resting on a stone floor.

Puck's eyes ballooned to the size of doughnut holes as he yelped and threw an already sore Sabrina to the flat limestone.

"Ouch!" She cried as she gingerly fingered a protruding lump near her right temple. "I know we have this rivalry thing going on, but I didn't know we had progressed to physical injury!"

"Um, uh, well, you see, I…it was…um, well" –

"Wow, I've never seen you look that idiotic. Let's pack up and get going."

Luckily for Puck, Sabrina surmised that mentioning the fact that she had unexpectedly woken up to Puck holding her would only create a downhill spiral for the state of truce that seemed to exist for the time being. Maybe avoiding unnecessary conflict would cause everything to run smoother while they infiltrated the square.

Tonight, Sabrina decided, would be a night for scoping out the premises. She and Puck would take note of guards, gather information on Daphne's exact location, and otherwise acquaint themselves with the opposing forces. The tricky variable in the equation would be how they would manage to avoid discovery all the while.

Sabrina, fortunately, had considered this prior to even departing from the Grimm house.

"Puck," she said imperiously. "We're going to be scouting out the Hand tonight. We need disguises, so" –

"Since when do you make the plans?" argued Puck.

"Well, I'd say since I decided to set off _by myself _rescue Daphne _by myself."_

"Puh-leeze. We both know that I'm your only chance of survival, so I should be the one to plan this thing."

"Well, if you're so brilliant, then what's your idea?"

"Well, lesson number one for any kind of infiltration is to _scope out the enemy._ We need disguises so we can scout out the Hand tonight."

"Oh. Wow, brilliant. How did I not think of that?" Sabrina made sure to add drops of venomous sarcasm to every syllable.

"Glad you see reason, Ugly. I think we should disguise ourselves as members of the Hand. What have we got?"

"Well, we have this handy dandy magic wand. I think that might help somewhat," Sabrina said half-jokingly.

"What if we were to turn ourselves into Heart and Nottingham?"

Sabrina hated to admit it, but this was exactly the sort of mastermind scheme she had spent several hours contemplating the night before. In fact, it was precisely the plan she had prepared for.

"I'll go first," she said, pointing the wand at herself and picturing Mayor Heart's horrible makeup and garish clothing.

"No, actually I'll take that," Puck said. "Word on the street is you have a small addiction to magic. Wouldn't want that getting out of hand, now would we?" Sabrina frowned but handed the wand to Puck.

He pointed the thin wooden wand at her and uttered "Give me a disguise!" In two seconds flat, Sabrina sported the exact appearance of the ugliest queen in Ferryport Landing, right down to the beauty mark drawn on the left cheek.

After Puck had transformed himself, he stowed the wand in the pocket of Nottingham's old-time breeches. "For emergencies," he said, looking up at Sabrina in all seriousness.

And with that, they set out. It was about time she got her sister back, Sabrina thought.

* * *

DPOV

They were getting impatient, Daphne could tell. The tension in Nottingham's occasional rants (which he gave twice that day as he threw her a stale bit of bread and stagnant water) was increasing to dramatic intensity. She was aware that the growing discord was due to her family's failure to come running after her.

Daphne's feelings on this were conflicted. On the one hand, she was content to know that they were not making the behemoth mistake of playing directly into the Hand's scheme. On the other hand, she grew afraid that no one cared enough to come find her – or that they hadn't noticed her absence at all. Poor Daphne grew downtrodden as she imagined her family, laughing and living with no thought given to her disappearance. Perhaps she would die young and alone, with not a soul in the world realizing that she was suffering. Even Elvis, she discovered, was kept away from her. She would have loved to have the warm company of the large dog. Yet, she had not even that much. The hours dragged and her time in captivity lengthened.

SPOV

Sabrina and Puck flew from the cave at what Sabrina judged to be near eight-thirty, due to the crescent moon rising in the sky. The sky was dark, the stars twinkled, and the night was one of the calmest, most gorgeous, clearest nights Sabrina had ever experienced in her life.

Luckily, as their disguised appearances were only a magical illusion, Puck was perfectly capable of using his wings as transport. Sabrina guessed that they looked terribly gawky hanging from the navy blue sky on the two spindly pink wings protruding from Puck's back. To the Hand they would appear to be Heart and Nottingham, which was extremely beneficial since Heart was a Scarlett Hand official and would be asked no questions they were incapable of answering. Nottingham's basic role included trailing Heart and catering to each and every one of her whims.

They landed on the outer edge of the town square. Around them stood razed buildings, ruined and gathering dust on the damp soil. Farther inside the town stood buildings that had formerly been an ice cream parlor, the old bike shop, and a bookstore. These buildings were lit wickedly in the darkness, full of rowdy villains and scattered supplies pilfered from Charming's camp. Sabrina felt anger take light in her very bones, filling her with an explosive rage. _What makes the Hand believe they can steal our supplies, kill our soldiers, and take over the world and get away with it? _She thought.

They slipped into a random restaurant, now serving as a twenty-four hour meeting station and bar. Crazed eyes that had only a moment ago been cruel and boisterous were immediately cowed into submission at the sight of the one who was supposedly one of their top leaders. Sabrina felt a bit smug to be feared as much as she apparently was, but as she passed each table she heard the conspicuous sound of snickering follow her. This, somehow, wasn't quite as satisfying.

She and Puck sat down at a table, Puck keeping silent for once in all the time she had known him. They ordered sodas from the headless black-clothed figure who appeared to be some sort of server, which earned them some strange looks from people within earshot of their table. Then Sabrina realized that Heart and Nottingham were adults; adults don't come into bars to order Diet Coke. She quickly ordered two pina coladas, thinking that no one would notice if they happened to neglect the alcoholic beverages throughout their stay.

The minute the headless waiter departed from the vicinity of their table, the two began whispering in what they hoped was an ominous and imperious manner. Wouldn't do to let down the façade for a single minute.

"What do we do now?" Puck whispered rather loudly.

"Well, I imagine we listen around for anything about Daphne," Sabrina replied.

"Right. The Marshmallow. Got it," said Puck.

Sabrina listened slyly to every surrounding table's loud discussions. So far, no one had mentioned anything about any Grimm. Puck seemed to be engaged in his own eavesdropping, but suddenly he grabbed her arm across the table. She felt a bit squeamish at having Nottingham grab at her, even though it was only Puck under the evil skin. He kicked her leg and motioned for her to crawl under to his side, which she immediately did. A few trolls and a hag looked curiously over, and She realized that they were not accustomed to seeing their superiors crawl secretively under tables in public. She struggled quickly into the opposite booth and straightened her back, giving a nasty expression, like she dared anyone to speak to her.

Now she paused to listen with Puck. Behind his booth were two knights engaged in zealous discussion.

"I heard," one of them shout-whispered, "that they've captured the youngest Grimm and are keeping her locked up near here. No one's said where, though."

"Oh, everyone knows that by now. Doris, that old hag that lives on Main Street, says that she's seen the girl. They're keeping her as bait for the rest of that bratty family to come and sacrifice themselves."

"Well, have you any idea where they are holding the little girl?" Sabrina held her breath in anticipation.

"The jail, I suppose. However, they have been known to hold more, well, important prisoners in the mansion for extra protection. It's more difficult to escape without being seen there, you know. This one's probably in an empty cell, since she's so young. She's not an escape risk at this age."

This was all they needed to know. Sabrina and Puck were already quietly slipping through the restaurant as the two Hand members continued to gabble.

"You know something?" Puck said softly "I..."

Sabrina looked up at Puck to see why he had stopped so short of a sentence. His eyes were wide, his mouth open. It was then that she looked ahead of her.

Standing in front of her, double chin trembling, was the Queen of Hearts.

**Another surprise. Well, review… Oh, and to those of you that asked for Puckabrina, it's most definitely coming full on in the next chapter. Like, I already have some written in. Am working the way up to a kiss...or ten.**


	8. The Ferryport Landing Jail

**Here's chapter eight! I added some Puckabrina! This isn't the only bit, either. From now on I'll be writing in plenty of it. Also, someone said that they liked how Puck and Sabrina aren't OOC. Thank you so much, because that was the whole point of keeping the Puckabrina slow in coming. There are so many fics where they're like, screaming at each other and then start kissing madly. It's crazy. I tried to keep them in character here, but let me know if you think they aren't like themselves. Let me know what made you think so if you do, so I can put everything back in line for the next chapter. I'm not writing as well today cuz I'm pooped, but I'll probably be better tomorrow.**

_Heart stood face to face with Sabrina and Puck for a full ten seconds. Sabrina, who was used to Heart's malicious exterior, felt a jolt of victory at seeing the expression on her overly made-up face – one of shock and fear. After the brief stare-down, she opened her mouth wide and let loose one long word:

"NOOOOTTTTIIINNNGGGHHHAAAMMM!"

The Sheriff appeared around the corner of the building, panting and sweating furiously. "Yes, my queen?" he replied. Sabrina was reminded of an abused pig, though any pig would have snorted indignantly at being compared to Nottingham, who sported an unsightly purple scar down his face and a potbelly to rival that of a pig expecting piglets.

He stopped short, right behind Heart. His eyes grew wide, then confused, then murderous. "Imposters!" he shouted. "Thieves! Spies!" And with that, he extracted from his silk overcoat a silver bottle, not unlike a salt shaker. He overturned it over the heads of the petrified Sabrina and Puck. She looked up to see a sprinkling of deep blue powder falling like crushed pieces of the midnight sky. Sabrina felt the familiar tingling sensation of magic and peered down at her hand. Instead of the chubby pie that Heart possessed, she spied a young white hand with a few scabs in all the same spots she had scabbed hers. The disguise was broken.

She peered over at her companion, whose eyes were once again the familiar pea-green shade she had found herself staring directly into so many times before. Her long blonde hair blew into her eyes once again. For just a fleeting, strange moment, time stood still before her eyes. Her mind processed nothing but that exact instant in time. It was the last moment spent before their plan was foiled, simply spent looking each other in the eyes. And then it was time to face her fate.

She turned from Puck to look at Heart and Nottingham, only to find her hands being wrenched behind her back by Heart's card soldiers. They ripped her right off the ground and bound her mouth with a blood red gag.

"Hey! Don't you dare do that to h" –

Puck was cut off by a drab gray gag of his own. The two were carried off into the night by Heart and her soldiers.

They were thrown into an empty cell in the city jail, or what used to be the jail but now housed Hand prisoners of all sorts – not a house to keep the justice but a POW camp. Groaning and banging filled the entire building, like ghosts had taken up residence in the bricks. Their gags were untied, though they were left with chains attaching their feet to juxtaposed iron loops on the walls.

Sabrina was furious at herself, and at the Hand. She was banging her hand on the bars of the cell when Nottingham walked over to stand directly before them.

"You can't do this!" She shouted indignantly.

"Well, Miss Grimm," (he sneered malevolently) "I'm afraid we can. And don't try one of your little fairy transformation tricks either, boy, because even if you try to bust out of the bars you won't be able to. We've reinforced this cell with a force field that is impenetrable from the inside, except by spell reversal dust. I believe you've already had a run-in with that stuff," he continued. "Unfortunately, seeing as there's none inside there and I don't believe I'll be passing you any from outside, you're out of luck. Guess the Grimms are losing two of theirs." Nottingham cackled evilly and left the two to rot in the cell.

Sabrina screamed after him furiously and banged on the walls with her fists. _ No, _she thought, _they can't get away with this…they can't! Why do I have to lose all the time?_ She was in a full-out frenzy when she sank drearily to the cold cement.

"Oh, who am I kidding? It's no use. I'm going to die, Daphne's going to die, and nothing I can do will stop it or make it any easier." _I'm so tired of trying_, she thought. _I'm tired of pretending that there's anything worth fighting for._ She began to feel the salty tears drip down her face like little glass islands. She fought to blink them back, simply because she had grown used to staying strong rather than breaking down in her days at the orphanage and even here in the town. Still, they gushed down her face and all she managed to do was release more from her tear ducts.

Suddenly, she felt a warm, soft hand on her shoulder. She turned her head around to see Puck, the bane of her existence, a "villain of the worst kind," holding her shoulder from behind. He pulled her into a warm hug and commenced that gentle rocking motion that most people use when comforting a person who's crying hysterically.

Somehow, the feeling of two arms around her back and the silent rhythm of the blood pounding in her ears lulled her into gentle sleep. As she drifted off, she felt two lips drop a soft touch on her head. A hand brushed through her hair softly, until she was fast asleep.

PPOV (only the second one in the whole story!)

Puck sat as still as possible next to the freezing cement of the gray partition. Despite all that had happened, despite their failures and all the fear, he wished this one moment where all was at peace and Sabrina wasn't screaming herself hoarse at him would last for a good long while. She was funny when she screamed. It really was quite something. Still, this actually felt nice. She needed a good cry anyway; even he needed a good cry sometimes. He hardly wanted the others to see him break his always-mischievous façade, but every once in a while he himself had to release the bottled up emotions. This was why he refrained from cracking a joke about Sabrina's mental breakdown.

Sabrina began to stir quietly. He repositioned her so her head rested on his shoulder, eyes in his neck. He put one hand in her long hair and leaned back against the wall. Soon, he too was asleep.

SPOV

Sabrina woke up with a terrible headache. She had eaten nothing but a few crackers from her reserve since yesterday (she judged the time to be about two in the morning). She was still enveloped in Puck's hug, still feeling hopeless.

She was so thoroughly exhausted that she refrained from even repositioning her limbs. Besides, there wasn't much sense in moving from her warm spot simply to prove that she hated Puck's guts. She vastly preferred to stay still, for the simple gesture of being held comfortingly was almost worth the loss of her dignity. And besides, she was getting a totally uncharacteristic

Puck awoke approximately five minutes later, to find Sabrina staring sorrowfully at the wall. "What cha thinkin', Ugly?" he asked softly.

"It's not like it matters," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his hoodie once again, feeling her last shred of dignity slip away on a breeze. She would never be allowed to forget all the awkward craziness this week…

"Well, at least you know Daphne's near you for a while."

She raised her eyes, blue eyes widened and sparkling in the cold white prison lights. "What did you say?" she questioned frantically.

"The Marshmallow. That knight dude back in the restaurant place said something to his buddy about keeping prisoners in the jail."

"Really? Oh my gosh. We have to break out! We have to get out now!"

"Well, that was quite a mood swing ya had there."

"Do you realize what this means? She's alive. She's here. All we have to do is break out!"

"You know, I totally would. Except there's a force field right there, and it's kinda fairy proof."

Sabrina realized that the two would need aid from the outside of the cell in order to break out. She sank down to the floor once again, thinking with all her power. She noticed two major details: one, the canister of blue spell-breaking powder was on the laminate desk visible through the open doorway from the hall of cells to the offices. Two, the night watch was a rather vacuous card soldier known simply as "Billy Bob," according to his name tag, which was marked with the emblem of a bloody red handprint. Billy Bob was obviously not all there, as evidenced by the fact that he was attempting to alphabetize a mini pack of M and Ms. He repeatedly became frustrated, threw the M and Ms from the desk, and shouted that he was "losing track of his letters." Somehow, she thought this would be a redeeming quality in her plot.

After a few minutes of silent deliberation, Sabrina called over to Billy Bob: "Hello? Mister?"

"Oh," replied Billy Bob, fingering one of the large spades on his flat white stomach. "I'm supposed to keep you quiet and not let you out. So I think I'm going to ignore you."

"Well, suit yourself. But I have an idea to help you." Billy Bob looked simply puzzled. "I know how to make your boss put you in a better job," she said. "All you have to do is listen and take my advice."

"Oh, alright. I like it when they tell me I'm doing a good job!" He grinned. Obviously, Sabrina had her work cut out for her.

"Okay. You know this force field right here around the cell?" The card soldier nodded in response. Sabrina continued. "Well, anything can get inside, but nothing can come back out. And if someone were to sprinkle that can of dust on it, it would come right down."

She took a breath and continued. "If someone were to come for us and try to break us out, all they would have to do would be to grab that can and throw it at the cell. Then they could bust through the bars easily. But if you put it in here with us, no one can get to it without getting trapped inside as well. So all you have to do is hand it in to us, and we're trapped even more securely." She failed to mention that if said intruder got trapped in the cell, it would do no good considering they would be trapped _with the can. _She prayed that the card soldier was so incredibly stupid that he wouldn't put that together.

Billy Bob looked suspicious for a mere second, then his eyes grew blank and placid as he smiled. "Actually, I think you're right. I'll do that." Sabrina smiled and smirked back at Puck, who rolled his eyes and whirled his finger at his head, mouthing "idiot." She reached through the bars to the edge of the field, then grabbed the rim of the can that came through.

She whispered back at Puck, "Turn into something big enough to break the bars. Now!" Puck immediately spun around. When he was once again facing Sabrina, he was no longer a fairy but a gigantic, snorting rhino. His length stretched from one end of the enclosed block of a cell to the other. Sabrina immediately threw a pinch of the dust on the force field, then dug a foot in Puck's leathery hide and jumped aboard his back. They charged straight through the bars of the cell.

Billy Bob's eyes gained a spark of recognition, and he charged at the rhino that was Puck. He was thrown against the exposed brick wall by the bucking, horned head. Sabrina directed the rhino toward the rest of the cells, and they traveled the entire corridor at a trotting pace, searching for the familiar face of Daphne Grimm. They reached the end of the hall having found no trace of the little girl. Sabrina's face grew pasty white. "They've already killed her," she said quietly.

"Wait. Where else did that knight say they kept prisoners?" asked Puck. "I know there was somewhere else."

Sabrina's eyes lightened with blatant relief. "Oh, yeah, there was somewhere else! I think it was the mayoral mansion." Satisfied, they traveled back down the corridor. The prisoners of war were still moaning and banging.

"Hold on," Puck said quickly. "We can't leave for the mansion yet. I'm going to get the rest out too." Sabrina nodded in reply, and held out a pinch of the dust. She had removed the shield on another cell when she heard stomping feet and shouting. She hurriedly looked up to find about ten card soldiers charging from the other end of the hall.

"No time! We have to leave now," she cried. Puck was already rushing full speed to the other end of the prisoners' corridor. The card soldiers were unfortunately starting to gain ground on them. Puck sped up to the very limit of his ability, and finally, finally, they broke through the hard wall of the jail. Puck immediately reverted to his previous form, snatched Sabrina into the air, and sped off. Sabrina was delighted by the fresh air, the freedom, and also the wonderful can in her hand that was capable of breaking so many spells.

"Hang on a second," Puck said thoughtfully. "If that stuff reverses spells," he said, pointing to the can in her arm, "then why didn't they use it to take down the barrier?"

Sabrina paused to scan thoughtfully over the can. She discovered a blue label on the back, the precise matching shade of the powder. "It says here that only spells up to certain strength can be broken. I guess it's not strong enough."

"You know what?" asked Puck. "I'm tired. We can't get Daphne tonight because we're currently unarmed, very sleepy, and it's beginning to get light out here. I think I've had enough for the night."

They flew back to the cave for a day-long nap.

**Wow, I'm so sleepy. I think I'm going to take a brief break from the story, but fear not; I promise it won't be more than a few days. It's just that I'd rather rest and be inspired and write great chapters than continue to write when I'm drained and everything feels rushed. I'll probably pick this up on Friday or so. As in, the 12****th****. If not then, then ASAP. Don't give up on the story, please! And review, with your honest opinion!**


	9. Breaking In

**Woohoo! After a week and a day, chapter nine is finished and ready! This one is crucial, but the next one is where I'm hoping to heat up the Puckabrina. I promise, it'll get more intense. For now, please enjoy… and thanks so much to all the wonderful reviewers who wished me luck and survival through my computer grounding (aka Lara D and Mackenzie :DD). Yeah, it was torture, but at least I had the sense to pick up my composition book and get some work done. Luv y'all! **

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm, or Baskin Robbins either. I wish I owned a three-scoop cone of Daquiri Ice flavor, though (for those of you who might not know, Baskin Robbins is a wicked awesome ice cream shop, commonly housed in the same building as your nearest Dunkin' Donuts, which is also wicked awesome)**.

As Puck looked over at Sabrina, he noticed that her large blue eyes were distant and dusky. Her cheeks were streaked with dried tears, which had sloshed in with the day's dirt on her face and created a marbled surface of pale gray and pink. He saw that she was wilting with the drive to sleep, to rest, to close her eyes, but here she sat, as awake as she had ever been. She was slumped against the cave wall with her arms around her knees.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head. "I can't," she said. "I won't sleep. I've got to stay awake."

"Why?"

"Because of Daphne. I have to stay up for Daphne so I won't forget about her."

"You won't forget."

"Well, if she's suffering, I'm not going to let myself have the luxury of forgetting for even an hour or two."

The discussion was left off here. Puck saw stray tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Just an hour ago she had been giddy with the charge of their jailbreak (he felt his cheeks redden as he remembered exactly what had happened in the air out there), so he saw no reason for the mood swing. Why sink back into meltdown mode when they came closer to success with every moment? Well. He still wouldn't let her break down on her own. _I'm eating my reputation away with these sappy moments, _he thought as he slid across the weedy cave dirt to sit beside Sabrina. He placed a wing and an arm around her back, gently pulling her head to rest on his shoulder.

"What am I going to do with you, Grimm? You're such a basket case." He chuckled a bit to himself, and then sighed. The morning sky glowed pink with the anticipation of a new day. Somewhere, in another world, children were beginning to wake up and groan with hatred at the thought of another seven hour school day. In Normalville, where animals didn't speak like humans and would-be seventh graders had no reason to rescue their sisters from evil organizations, people were waking up craving normal lattes and heading off to normal occupations. He considered himself exceedingly fortunate to not be a citizen of Normalville; regular humans were such fools. He'd always said so, back to his Old England days.

DPOV

Daphne knew she was running out of time. Nottingham was growing impatient, flustered. She heard Heart yelling in the next room every few hours. She could tell that they had all been counting on the Grimms coming after her. Gah, they were so silly. It almost made her giggle to hear Heart get her knickers in a twist. This was weird, she thought, considering her circumstances.

Daphne did not care to think about the ever-decreasing number of her dwindling days, so she made it a point to think of other things. Being tied up in a room was no more fun after two days than it had been in the first hour, and all the while she had several questions pressing at her mind:

_Where's Elvis? _He'd been with her when she was conked in the head, and she couldn't bear to consider the possibility that he had been done away with. Oh, how she loved the huge creature.

_How's Sabrina dealing with this? She had better not come after me; she can be so stupid sometimes._

_Why does Heart seem so fond of acting like a pompous witch?_

The funniest bit about the whole ordeal was that Daphne was not afraid. She had not the slightest idea why this was, but she was just a bit nervous. She ought to be terrified, she knew. Just a month or two ago she would have been quaking in her shoes.

What Daphne was unaware of was that deep down in her heart, she knew Sabrina was coming. Her brain just didn't know yet.

SPOV

Sabrina found that she had dozed off for a whopping fourteen plus hours as she jolted awake in the darkness. Puck was still alert and thoughtful. It shocked her at the transformation in his behavior as of late. He had a nasty habit of causing her to wake up and find that she was in need of a bath or some therapy, but for the last two days he had been uncharacteristically pensive and serious. As she wondered, she refrained from altering her position, against his shoulder. No use pretending that they both didn't need some comfort right now (at least, she needed some comfort. She wasn't sure about Smelly over here). Still, she had no doubt whatsoever that one day, when the whole thing was over and done with, there would be plenty of tales told. She would never live the thing down.

The plan for the night, she decided, was to make this the final few hours of their mission. It was now or never, and it might as well be now. She hadn't reckoned on giving up to Never.

Before leaving the cave, Sabrina and Puck grabbed several weapons, including the three pocketknives, the tranquilizer, and the Wand of Merlin, all supplied by the guardian-less mirror. Since the master plan was to drag Daphne directly home from the mansion, Sabrina decided to carry her pack of supplies along. This proved to be a burdensome decision, because a backpack can seem heavier than you might think when the carrier has fed on nothing but fear and peanut butter crackers for two days straight. Thus Puck was forced to sigh dramatically and snatch away the pack before taking off with Sabrina and supplies in arm. "When was the last time you, you know, burned calories or whatever?" he huffed, tiring as quickly as the worn-out Sabrina.

Needless to say, this earned him an indignant and also very resonant slap across the face. Quite a feat, she thought, when you consider that she was hanging in midair.

They continued through the night for about half an hour. The stars were like huge lanterns, illuminating the dark blue stretch of pure velvet above their heads. Once or twice, Sabrina raised her eyes to peer at the heavens and caught two pea-green eyes staring back into hers. She blushed like fire and lowered her head.

The mayoral mansion was much as she remembered; the stately white pillars, however, were rather grimy, and the gardens overlooking the street leading into town were severely overgrown. After flying around the back of the colossal house, Puck dropped roughly into the vegetation, just out of sight of the guards. They were cards again, she noticed. (Why on earth did an organization bent on world domination rely so fully on walking bits of paper?) They wrestled themselves through the low, dense hedge and into a relatively less prickly patch of unkempt garden, where the rose bushes spread their thorny arms like prison bars.

"Well," said a scratched and mildly irritated Sabrina, "we're here. Now what do we do?"

"How should I know? She's your sister. You figure it out. Oh, and before I forget, I expect repayment for my generous heroics in the form of cash. No checks. Maybe a Baskin Robbins card."

"Whatever. So listen, fairy boy, we need a distraction to get those guards away from the door. Get them as far away as you can, for as long as you can."

A meaningful, expectant look crossed Puck's face. He stuck out his bottom lip and crinkled up his eyes, which Sabrina noticed, to her shame, were quite sparkly, even in the dark.

"Fine. _Please."_

Puck nodded smugly and blew a few solemn notes on the little wood flute which was constantly on his person. Within seconds, the starry sky was filled with little blue lights.

"Okay," said Puck. "Go to the other end of the garden and set off the Big One. And all the glop grenades, too, because we need a big distraction." He then proceeded to pull several pouches out of his pockets, several of which Sabrina could identify as his ever-present glop grenades. She could smell imminent disgustingness in the air.

The pixies flitted purposefully to the opposite end of the gardens. About two minutes later, a loud splattering sound pervaded the air, widening Sabrina's eyes and nearly bursting her ear drums. This was no ordinary glop grenade. The guards' eyes, opened wide in a startled expression, were diverted toward the hedge, which was now ablaze with flying bits of something unidentifiable and brownish-green. They waddled at a brisk pace through the ill-trimmed path, farther and farther away from the now unprotected door.

"Go, go, go!" Puck shout-whispered as the guards passed by. Sabrina pushed herself onto all fours and practically flew toward the path, with Puck following suit. The card soldiers were so engrossed in investigation of the mysterious and gross explosion that none even turned a head as a frantic Sabrina whirled through the door and into the back halls of the mansion with Puck behind, slamming the door. Unfortunately, the slam attracted the attention of the none-too-bright guards, who made their way angrily back toward the door. Sabrina was forced to drag Puck into a closet, which, upon cursory examination, appeared to contain cleaning supplies.

"Okay. Phase one complete. Now what?" Puck asked breathlessly.

"We have to find out where they've got Daphne, if they have her here," Sabrina said. She shuddered at the thought that maybe Daphne _wasn't _here. _No. Don't think like that. She has to be here, _she thought to herself.

Motioning for Sabrina to follow, Puck crept out of the closet and around the corner, just as the guards reached the door and threw it ajar. The two tiptoed silently forward, halting every few seconds to listen intently for potential danger.

Before they had gone twenty full yards, Sabrina picked up a faint hum from the door on their right. Moving closer to inspect the source of the mysterious noise, she pressed her ear to the door.

"Sabrina! What are you doing? Don't you hear that?" Puck asked.

"Of course I hear. Someone's humming in there…"

"NO, idiot, I'm talking about the footsteps down the hall! Move, move!"

Sure enough, she detected ominous footsteps on the hardwood floors, not two hundred yards away. Puck snatched her up onto his back, rocketed up to the high ceiling, and landed amongst the exposed wood beams. Embarrassingly, Sabrina noticed that he kept a white-knuckled grip on her arm. Her face reddened, but not for long. As she looked down, she spotted an irritated Nottingham strutting toward the room where she had heard the indistinct humming.

"Lower me down for a minute – I want to know what he's doing," she whispered.

"Are you crazy? Set you up for death? I don't freaking think so!"

"Puck. Just. Do. It."

And so the blonde one got her way.

She hung by her ankles from Puck's grasp, with Puck floating several feet below the beams. She could hear Nottingham from her position next to the doorway.

"Well, brat, it's been almost three days. Your family just isn't coming, are they? Therefore, we've decided that we've been far too patient for far too long. We've got a little, er, _surprise_ waiting for you tomorrow morning…" he grinned maliciously and turned on his heel, never noticing the blonde girl shooting up to the wood beams on the ceiling at lightning speed. He stalked like a lion out of the door, yet with none of the grace of one. Sabrina felt her heart plummet ferociously to the bottom of her stomach; she leaped down to the dark wood floor with the speed and fearlessness of a cat. Whipping open the door, she whirled into the room which she now knew to be Daphne's holding place.

At first she saw no sign of her little sister, but then a mass of rope and dark hair in the corner alerted her to the presence of the small girl shoved up against the back of an old, dusty armchair.

"Daphn - "

Puck clapped a grimy hand over her mouth. "Shut up, Grimm! Do you want them to come tie up your sorry butt, too?"

"Sabrina!" cried Daphne, whisperingly. "You came!"

"Of course I came," she whispered. "Why would I just leave my sister to rot in this place?" Her voice cracked, and a few stray tears ran down her feverish cheeks.

"Enough with the happy reunion, crying, blah, blah, blah," said Puck boredly. "Let's just untie her and get out of here." He whipped out his pocketknife, which Sabrina had taken some time in deliberating before entrusting him with, and began sawing at the ropes.

"Oh, man, guys," Daphne sighed. "You can't believe how weird the last few days have been. They were going to kill me tomorrow, but now that you're here we can pick up Elvis and get out of here! Everything's good again!"

"Oh," Puck said. "Crap. I don't think I can fly a Great Dane out of any of these windows, let alone all the way to the house. Listen, Marshmallow, we might have to come back for him later."

Daphne's lip quivered uncontrollably, and her eyes watered. "Really?"

Sabrina nodded sadly.

"Well, if it's better for Elvis…"

"Then it's settled," said Sabrina. "We'll come back as soon as possible."

"Well, ladies," Puck chimed. "Now that the chit-chat fest is done with, we can bust out of this place." He proceeded to throw the window open and get one leg through the glass, wings already extended and quivering with anticipation of the takeoff. He had one arm around Sabrina's waist to pull her through the window and into the moonlight.

Suddenly, from behind them, came a pompous voice that made all three jump and lose their stomachs (though Puck would never have admitted to fear later on).

"Well, children, so nice to see a happy ending. Unfortunately, we're going to have to end your little party now…"

Sabrina turned her head, only to see the terrible ghost of fear in her little sister's eyes. Turning again, she stared back at the speaker – and found herself staring smack at the hideous drawn-on beauty mark on Mayor Heart's face.

**ALERT ALERT ALERT! ALERT AGAIN! EVERYBODY NEEDS TO KNOW THIS!!!**

**I'm going to Disney World late Wednesday night, and so I'll be gone for a few days without access to my comp. I'll try to post another chapter before Wednesday night so you're not left hanging. Plz plz plz review, because I run on constructive criticism! Without your opinions, I have no idea what to improve, nothing to do next, and an abundance of scattered fits of writer's block. Feed the story machine and give me your opinion.**


	10. Fear Not

**Fear not, the few of you who actually bother to follow this story! Chapter ten (or chapter 11, according to the list) is here. I know it's abnormally short, but I figured I might as well go ahead and get it done with and posted. More action, as promised!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. Michael Buckley thought of it first. *facewall***

"You know?" Puck drawled wearily, "The universe just won't cut us a break, will it? Marshmallow gets kidnapped; you run off and nearly become deep-fried Sabrina. Then you get captured, too. Now you're captured again. And on top of that, I bet you've got PMS. That would just make my day, y'know?"

She sincerely hoped that that bit of icing would be left off the cake. PMS would be a seriously negative occurrence, trapped in a dungeon and already hopeless.

In short, Mayor Heart had been flanked by a number of her uber-stupid bits of paper, who had promptly dragged Sabrina and Puck and (thankfully) Daphne to an old time dungeon in the bowels of the mansion. Sabrina had to wonder, why, in the twenty-first century, was there a dungeon with chains in the basement of the mayor's mansion? That was just retarded. Not that it mattered what she thought to the card soldiers. Heart stood by and cackled loudly as they cuffed her, Puck, and Daphne to the mildly rusty (but sadly not enough for her to break them apart) chains latched to the wall.

A peacefully smiling Daphne was now humming "Waking Up in Vegas" as if she was _not _chained up in a dungeon in the weirdest town to ever grace the face of the planet. Sabrina felt like rolling her eyes at the pure absurdity, but she was simply too overjoyed with having her little sister back. If she weren't chained to the wall, she would probably be twirling and skipping with ecstasy. Somehow, the grime digging into her fingernails as she gripped the cell bars and the dark, damp walls did nothing to spread their creeping tendrils to her heart. She felt as impervious to dampening as her small sister. But, "Waking Up in Vegas"? Thank goodness the child hadn't had a chance to hear "Blah Blah Blah" before her kidnapping. The adults would have freaked.

_Hang on just a sec, _Sabrina thought. _What are we doing sitting around as if we can't just walk out of this place?_

She peered around the cell. Sure enough, they were equipped with a transforming fairy boy and even her supply backpack. Wow, she was dumber than she'd thought!

"Puck! Fairy boy! What are we doing here? I mean, you can transform into something small enough to escape your chains and bust us out, and dumb ol' Heart was so stupid as to leave my backpack with us…"

"Well, they've got one of those shields up around the cell like they had in the jail. I saw them sprinkle something on the ground and then a ripple came from thin air, right in front of the jail bars. The rest of this place is made of solid limestone."

"Oh gah, you're such a dimwit!" She whipped out the can of midnight blue powder from the supply pack, and Puck's eyes widened with recognition.

"Oh, that stuff! Yeah, now we've got something to work with!"

"And you wonder why I claim to despise you. You're so beneath my level."

"Well, you didn't seem to think so in that cave - "

He was silenced by the grimy hand of a red faced Sabrina Grimm clapping loudly over his mouth.

"Okay," said Daphne. "Two questions. First, what the heck is that stuff? And second, what happened in the cave that I should know about it? We all know that if it makes Sabrina embarrassed, I've got a right to know."

"This is spell reversal powder," said Sabrina. "It can override most simple spells and contains a bunch of magical ingredients - "

"Before you go admiring her for being so dang knowledgeable, you should know that she's reading from the back of the can," piped Puck. Daphne giggled softly.

Huffing, Sabrina proceeded to sprinkle the dust on the bars of the cell, allowing Puck to transform into a hippopotamus and kick aside the doors. "This is too easy," he shouted over the explosive noise. Unfortunately, the banging iron and splintering limestone caused an unfortunately nearby Heart to trip hastily down the stairs, card men in tow. Heart roared (quite unfeminine, Sabrina speculated) and slammed the heavy doors shut.

"_NO ONE LEAVES THIS ROOM UNTIL THOSE BRATS ARE DEAD!" _she shouted. "_I WANT THEM DEAD!"_

"No can do, lady," Puck said smugly. "I'm afraid that if anything ends up dead, it'll be your chance of keeping us in this place. Now if you'll notice, I'm a talking hippo in a bad mood. I would seriously move out of the way right now."

The cards simply brandished their dinky little swords and looked to Heart for directions. "I'm afraid you'll never make it through the Hand," said Heart, confidence faltering ever so slightly.

"Your mama," said Puck. "Hop on my back," he whispered through his teeth. Sabrina and Daphne dug into the slippery folds of hippo skin and mounted his back, leaning forward and gripping his back madly in anticipation of the obvious.

Puck reared back his large round head. "CHARGE!"

The three shot desperately through the mountain of card soldiers, sending them to lie on their backs on the cold ground. They struggled to right themselves, as if they were large red and black cockroaches. Contrary to Heart's deluded belief, they had reached the large wooden arched doors in less than a minute. Once again, a splintering pile was left in Puck's hippo trail. Only this time, there were several overturned card soldiers as well, left in the dust and wriggling their spindly limbs.

Needless to say, as the three strode proudly off the mansion groundsit was not a good day for the card men. But that was _not_ what Daphne was giggling about.

**I know this was short, again. Ah iz sawry. Rilleh! I'm going to Disney World tomorrow night and I won't be back till Saturday night, maybe even super-early Sunday morning, since I'm taking a charter bus instead of flying or anything (believe it or not, this is a field trip). I'll try to write Sunday, but I can't promise a post before Monday or Tuesday. Lurve you guys and I'll write again ASAP.**


	11. Unexpected Circumstances

**Hey, peeps. I got back from Disney :DD It was awesome. I rode Rock 'N' Roller Coaster twice, and I literally had to put a death grip on my sunglasses the second time round. Oh, and I was previously planning to enter the Max Ride chapter writing contest, but I'm too young. *sadness* Oh well, I got you guys. APOLOGIES ARE IN ORDER FOR MY SECOND WEEK OF ABSENCE. I faced my second computer groundation in two weeks, and only after catching up on all of my own laundry, slaving over a hot dishwasher, and scrubbing my room skinless am I officially and most kindly permitted to serve up another installment in my weird little chronicle.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE SISTERS GRIMM. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN A MALFUNCTIONAL CAPS LOCK KEY.**

It took no more than a half hour to reach the dense, budding forest behind the Grimm residence. The trio dropped quietly behind the red brick house, where Puck immediately raced around the corner where the once stately walls met. Maybe even Puck had missed being home with all of them. It had been a long three days, after all. Daphne began to follow suit on her stocky little fair legs.

"Granny! Mom! Dad! We're back!" she shouted joyfully. "I'm o - " she was cut off by a frantic Puck, who rocketed around the corner of the house and slapped his hand over her mouth.

"They're here!" he whispered. "They've come back to the house to wait for us – and for your family. We have to get out now." And with that, he whipped the two girls into the air.

Sabrina, still incredulous, began to feel her heart pounding in her throat when she saw what was below them. A whole army of evil creatures lay below her feet. Two huge black dragons, witches, hags, and multi-headed things with bumpy brown skin appeared between the thick trees on either side of the building. Trolls were ducking behind the biggest bushes, and several dwarves were positioned in the shrubbery directly in front of the old wraparound porch. All were deathly quiet, and seemed to be poised to attack at a moment's notice. Puck flew silently and cautiously, neither of the girls risking the twitch of a muscle. Both knew that if any of the creatures looked up at them, there would be no escape this time. Their only hope was to run for it and pray the family refrained from departing from the house.

Unfortunately, Sabrina thought, her life just couldn't be that simple. One of the dragons had caught a whiff of them before they passed halfway over the property. Its voice, like a rockslide, echoed through the air thunderously.

"They are escaping. Get them!" the haunting roar was the cue. Puck began to rocket into the atmosphere, with flying monkeys, dragons, and a wild assortment of other beings gaining on him constantly. Landing was in no way an option, considering the fifty or so creatures grabbing desperately for their ankles. The only way to go was forward. And so, with a dragon on the very backs of their heels and spewing hot ashy breath, Sabrina commenced a fit of screaming.

"Puck! Go faster! LET'S GET THE FRICK OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOT!" On the contrary, Puck shot to the ground, depositing Sabrina and Daphne into a tall oak tree while descending. "WHAT THE HECK?" she screamed. "We have to get out of here! Why are you leaving us in the stupid tree?"

"Oh, Grimm, Grimm, Grimm. We both know that dragon doesn't stand a chance against the infamous Trickster King. Remember how I kicked that silver one's butt? You should. I saved your life, you know."

Daphne bit her palm and squealed. "Oh my gosh – I bet it was so romantic!"

Sabrina's face flushed the color of her mother's rosy toenails after a pedicure – fire engine red. She looked up at Puck, realizing that he was frozen and deeply blushing a mauve color. Unfortunately, she also noticed the crackling little flames on the back of Puck's hoodie.

"Oh my gosh, Puck! You're on fire!" Daphne squealed.

"Oh, Marshmallow. Of course I am. Your sister knows it too, but she won't admit - "

"No, you little freak," snarled Sabrina. "Your shirt is burning. Oh, yeah, and you might also want to note the big angry dragon breathing down your neck, dimwit!"

"Huh? Oh. Crap."

"Way to phrase it, Dr. Seuss," Sabrina said sarcastically. It was too late for sarcastic replies, however, because Dr. Seuss had already zoomed into the azure blanket of the sky at the speed of light. As during the first dragon encounter, Puck began by taunting the monstrous creature. He certainly appeared to have the whole thing down to a routine.

"Huh, scaly? Want some? I'll give you some of the Trickster King!" He teased, prompting the monster to shoot beams of blue flame with laser accuracy. Here and there, the patches of brown grass laced with hopeful green caught aflame, creating a patchwork quilt of minor flames waiting to coalesce into a conflagration. Still, the fairy darted and twirled with equal speed and efficiency, never allowing himself to be caught in the deadly blue bullets.

Sabrina felt ready to do a head-tree collision right there. One day the mulish, idiotic, asinine fairy was fated, she felt certain, to acquire a taste of her roundhouse kick, right where it counts. The thought rejuvenated her weary senses. She then proceeded to notice, just in the nick of time, the spreading flames, just below her feet. The inferno building in the clearing was building its way up their tree.

She tapped Daphne's shoulder in a panic. "Um, Daph? I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience, but we gotta get out of this tree, pronto." It took the whole of her fraying nerves to keep up the calm, collected façade.

"Oh…" said Daphne. _Quite the picture of quick thinking and intelligence_, Sabrina thought sarcastically. "What should we do? We can't exactly climb down the tree, and…" Sabrina saw her peer over at Puck, who appeared to be occupied with his pre-battle stand-up comedy routine of insulting dragon jokes. So much for that option.

"And that's where we have to bring in the creative thinking. Any ideas? We've ruled out the down direction, and climbing up only prolongs the time we have to wait till we're extra-crispy."

"What if we were to jump to that branch over there?" inquired Daphne. "At least, we could try." She pointed to a maple tree, about four feet away from their own with some apparently sturdy protruding limbs. It was a possibility, Sabrina decided.

"Actually," she replied, with a bit of hope creeping along with the adrenaline in her veins, "that's not a bad idea, but it's going to be a tough jump. How do we get across?"

"Ummm…let's just jump and hope for the best."

"Well, I got nothing better, so climb on my back." Sabrina helped the little girl, who was a bit heavier than expected, position herself onto Sabrina's back, piggy back style. Taking a deep breath (and then releasing all the bracing oxygen at the sight of the alarmingly close flames. In a state of terrifying panic, she bent her knees and desperately aimed for the lifesaving branch, barely more than a yard away.

The moment she and Daphne spent suspended in mid-air was one of extreme suspense. The branch loomed closer and closer, and both reached an arm for the wood of the maple tree.

At the last second, Sabrina made a desperate grab for the limb. Her heart soared as her fingers brushed the wood and locked into a deathly grip. Unfortunately, there was nothing curled amidst her fingers.

She and Daphne plummeted below, into the ever-spreading flames.

**Well. I'm thinking this isn't too good…**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! EAT YOGURT! REVIEW!**


	12. Random Occurrences and Mushy Brains

**Whoa, chapter twelve! I can't believe that I've successfully written twelve chapters of anything. Thank you, Dreamgreen16, for wishing me well on my trip. Actually, it went well, but a girl in my school died in a car accident the first day we were there. That was hard to deal with. Read this chapter now – I think you'll like it. **

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. If I did, Sabrina wouldn't be such a knothead. No offense, Brina. You're awesome anyway.**

Sabrina awoke with a Texas-size headache and double vision. A slideshow flashed through her head, with a tree and racing flames. Daphne's face as they fell from the current of the cold wind…

Daphne. The name struck a chord in the depths of her heart, prompting her to bolt into an upright position. She cracked her head loudly on hard stone, and realized that she was in the cave from when she and Puck had been after Daphne. Most unluckily, she was in the darkest and most cramped area of the stone room, where the ceiling tapered down so low as to endanger one so unlucky as to attempt to raise a head.

Rubbing the fresh, throbbing lump on her forehead, she peered around for her sister. She found the eight-year-old curled up a ways away, in a more open section of the cave. She was still out cold, with sunken and weary cheeks and a string of drool hanging from her pearly square teeth. Sabrina's heart began to slow, pounding into the steady waltz of normalcy as she sighed in relief. Dip, beat, dip, beat, dip, beat.

Remembering the horde of ghastly creatures inhabiting her home, she felt an inexorable sadness overwhelm her. She truly had no place to go. There was no refuge for her, none for her little sister, and no truly safe haven even for her family. Surely the old house would cease to guard them, one day. The realization brought a well's worth of tears into her eyes. She would be doomed to roam with Puck and Daphne –

Puck. Where was Puck? She hadn't seen him since…the jump. He had been battling the dragon. What if he'd died? What would she do? No, he couldn't be dead. She needed his help!

The impact of the thought bombarded her sore head with an intensity that trumped all other feeling. _She needed Puck to protect her_. As much as she hated to realize it, it was the truth. Still, it gave her a hideous headache and make her shudder. But the truth was, he was the one person she could count on to always be there to save her…

In spite of herself, she had to laugh a bit. That had sounded very Helpless Little Bella Swan, even in her head. Her unexpected laughter was intensified by the concept of Puck being Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen was handsome, kind, brave, wickedly strong, and quite refined. Puck was…Puck. Dirty, ridiculous, arrogant, annoying, and as unrefined as a pig. This could be counted as an offense to pigs everywhere. Then again, he had his moments. He could be funny, and brave, and caring. Occasionally, he could be helpful. Oh, and anyone had to admit he was handsome, alright. Big green eyes, freckles, and curly longish hair…it always looked artfully messy, too.

_Whoa, Sabrina_, she thought. Had she really, actually just gotten sidetracked by the thought of Puck's hair? She truly must have hit her head hard…not to mention her purpose was _finding _Puck, not thinking about the merits of his personality. And why was she thinking of his good qualities, anyway? He dumped stuff on her, played nasty tricks, humiliated her daily…

And always stood by her.

He'd saved her from the first dragon in the woods, and almost passed out and gotten fried. Even if he might have survived suffocation from smoke, being an Everafter, it was definitely a big risk.

He'd held her when she experienced mental breakdown in the jail.

He'd fought that dragon and nearly died, all for her and for Daphne.

He'd followed her out here in the first place – perfectly aware of the danger of the outside world. Or at least, the world in the town.

Not necessarily occurring in that order, of course.

But back to her mission. It took but a few seconds to exit the dank little cave, in which time she spotted him perched next to the entrance. He appeared to be asleep, so she gently nudged his shoulder. His eyelids raised drowsily, and seeing her own icy blue eyes, they popped asunder with a grin.

"Well, Grimm. Since you literally fell flat on your face without me there to save you, I think we can safely assume that it's a good thing I tagged along on your little rescue mission."

Sabrina braced herself with a deep breath, opened her lips and uttered two words that, had there been a live audience viewing the scene, would have shocked the crowd to the point of wide-eyed, slack-jawed silence.

"Thank you."

Puck's face grew serious. "What for?"

"Thank you for coming after me. Thank you for helping me rescue Daphne, for being my emotional support, and for not being a complete pig while we deal with these issues. Thanks for slaying those two dragons and for saving my butt."

"Wow," said Puck. "I was under the impression that you hated my guts – I never would have guessed you were grateful to me, though it is about time I heard that from you. I mean, I am pretty wonderful, aren't I? I'm the Trickster King, ruler of delinquents, mischief-maker extraordinaire, King of the Wrong Side of the Tracks…" He smirked.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You know what? As ridiculous as you are, I am grateful. You've risked a lot for me, even though I'm just some stupid girl you have to rescue every now and then. Not that you mean anything more than that to me, either." She paused for a moment, after which curiosity overpowered her. As much as she had resolved to show no interest in his "villainous" antics (excluding occasions where they concerned her ability to hold her head up in public), she had to know.

"How did you kill that dragon? You lost your sword when you choked that first one, didn't you?"

"Actually," Puck said, with uncharacteristic sincerity, "I had sort of a tough time with it. I forgot about the whole 'need weapons' thing until I tried to pull my wooden sword out of my belt loop and came up with nil. I got really freaked and the dragon caught me in the back of the leg."

He extended his leg to display the angry burn running the length of his calf. The back of his jeans leg was completely seared away. Sabrina's eyes widened and his grin made another appearance.

"Then I saw this stream, on the other end of the clearing from you," he continued. "There were a bunch of wet logs in it. So I picked up one that was pretty big but, and I threw it down the dragon's throat. It choked the thing to death,"

"And all this happened while I was out cold?" Sabrina inquired.

"Yep," he replied solemnly. "After I killed the thing, I had to high-tail it out of there with you two, because the fire was spreading fast. The flames were practically on top of you."

A pause ensued.

"You sure seem to enjoy choking large reptiles to death," said Sabrina. This elicited a chuckle from her companion.

Another pause followed, as they seemed to have run out of things to say. After five minutes or so, she decided to take a risk and let forth a question that burned in her brain.

"Why do you hate me so much? You prank me, you constantly tease me…"

"It could be because you waltzed in my kingdom and paid me none of the respect I deserve, forced me to look at your ugly face, and pushed me into a pool when I should have shoved _you _in."

"Or it could be because you're an ugly pig who likes to see people in pain."

"Not pain so much as extreme humiliation. And I am not ugly." He flipped his hair arrogantly and struck a pose. Sabrina had to giggle at the stupidity of it all.

"You know?" She began. "I think that - "

She was never permitted the chance to finish her thought. She was cut off by Puck, who leaned in and kissed her on the mouth.

Oh.

No.

He.

Did.

Not.

Her first thought was along the lines of "WTH", but then everything went fuzzy. She felt her brain melting into a pile of warm, soft, confused mush. First of all, this was Puck. This was the person whose apparent life purpose was testing how best to annoy a twelve-year-old girl. But he had also saved her life, sometimes by risking his own, and now…

It was nice kiss, kind of like the first one from amidst his pyromaniac monkey clan, but sweeter. It was simple and soft, which was just the way Sabrina believed a kiss ought to be. It was warm, with little electric beams of giddiness shooting through her veins. After a moment or two, she had no choice but to relax. Truthfully, she began to enjoy it. It felt like possibly, just possibly, she had someone who could comprehend her feelings – the joy, the sorrow, and the many complexities of dealing with almost-teenage years.

Of course, like everything else that felt truly excellent in her life, it could never last.

"OH. MY. GOSH."

Apparently, Daphne was no longer unconscious.

**Hey! Guess what? As I finish typing this chapter, it is 12:06 am. I have never been an early-bedtime kind of person, much less an early riser. I'm betting a hundred bucks that tomorrow ('scuse me, today) I'm going to wake up at one in the afternoon or later. Not that there's anything wrong with that in my book.**

**Goat cheese. Wait, no, I'm sorry. I meant to say "REVIEW!"**


	13. Confusion Unresolved

**Chapter thirteen, here it is. This is pretty much the aftermath of chapter twelve, but it's okay. To the people who keep begging me to continue my story (which I can barely believe and am EXTREMELY grateful for your support) don't worry. I'm following this thing through to the end. I can't stop now, because I want to know what happens next too!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. I own nothing, and literally nothing, because my 'rents own everything I own. Cuz they paid for it and stuff.**

_Oh no oh no oh no I am never ever going to live this down crap crap crap crap!!_

Sabrina's mind was a stream of confused panic as Daphne's cheery face loomed over the two almost-teenagers.

"Oh my gosh," said Daphne in a fit of excitement. "You two are so cute! I knew one day you would realize you were perfect for each other!"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Sabrina's voice prompted several birds to alight from the branches of the tall pines behind the cave. "This can't be happening! I'm dreaming! My life is a mess!" and with that she hauled her weary body off the ground and fled through the meadow grass.

What was wrong with her? Why was she so confused? Why did she feel this way? It was simply too confusing. Why had she kissed Puck, why had she enjoyed it? He was Puck, for Pete's sake! Annoying, filthy, obnoxious! But, then again, he was her friend. And he could be kind and helpful – and every time she saw him her heart sped up just a bit. Was she beginning to feel – dare she say it – differently about Puck? It couldn't be happening that way, could it? Everything was mangled and twisted in her heart. Affection, hatred, loneliness, confusion, fear. All a panicked heap crowding out her train of thought.

She did not cease to run when she ran out of breath, or when her legs became sore. Blinking back the tears welling in her eyes, she continued to flee, long blonde hair flying behind her like so many strands of gold. When she arrived at the other end of the meadow, she raced into the forest and continued on. Pine cones, squirrels, trees, dead leaves, and mud puddles slid through the corners of her blue eyes. Arriving at a point deep into the forest, no longer in view of the meadow, she threw herself down to the cold ground and wept.

The sky grew dark and ominous, and thunder began to rumble. As the first few drops cascaded through the leafy canopy overhead, lightning struck over the forest. Sabrina began to feel small and insignificant, just a speck of misery and confusion against the dark, soft sky cracked with flashing light. The trees began to sway, to blow around her. Green leaves danced above her head, brown beneath. Something soothing flew in on the sweeping wind – a peace that dried her red eyes and ruffled her hair like a father would a child. Standing up with as straight and brave a figure as she could muster, she wiped her eyes and clenched her fists.

Almost simultaneously, a warm hand settled on her shoulder. Peering back over her shoulder, she felt a lump rise once again in her throat, as well as a fresh abundance of tears in her eyes.

"Sabrina." The green eyes were pained and sorrowful.

"Go away. I need to think."

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. I'm sorry."

Sabrina raised her head to the sky, widening her eyes. Puck had only apologized for anything maybe twice in all the time she'd known him.

"No. You didn't exactly hurt me."

"Why did you get so freaked out, then?" he inquired softly.

"I'm _not _freaking out. I'm just fine."

"Sabrina," he said, just a minute bit more sternly, "look at me. You are not fine. We're going to sit down and talk about it, because I'm the Trickster King, and I make people do stuff they don't want to do. Spill."

"Fine," replied a reluctant Sabrina. "I'll talk if you'll answer my questions."

"Well. Why did you run away from me and the Marshmallow?"

"Truthfully?"

"No," he said, "I want you to lie. Of course, truthfully!"

"Honestly, I'm very confused. I don't know what any of that was about, and I don't know why you had to go and turn everything upside down on me, and I don't know why my life has to be so complicated!"

"Well, I can clear up some of that confusion. What that was about was just that I kissed you. Big whoop. Actually, I don't know why either, except that I got this weird gut feeling – must be that funky puberty virus you poisoned my brain with." He rolled his eyes, blowing a random strand of hair off of his forehead. Something rather unidentifiable churned and gurgled deep in Sabrina's stomach.

"Well, you didn't have to be that way about it. I mean, why _kiss _me?" she countered shrilly. "You're the bane of my existence; I'm a stupid human girl to you. Although, as I see it, you're stupider than me."

"Well, I don't have to hate you, do I? I find you annoying and an emotional wreck, yes. Hate you? Not so much." Strangely, he ignored the crack at his stupidity.

"Okay, well, maybe we don't _hate _each other, per se," an exasperated Sabrina replied, "but we most definitely harbor severe dislike – wait a minute. You don't hate me?"

"Nope. I just think, like I said, that you've got anger issues and painful weirdness."

"So, why did you kiss me?"

"Once again, Ugly. I have no clue. I just got this feeling, and I'm pretty sure it came from something possessing my brain."

"One more question." Her brow furrowed, in a state of bafflement. "What did it feel like to you?"

"Um, well, it was…"

"I'm waiting." She cocked her eyebrows.

"Forget it." He stood up abruptly and turned in the direction of the meadow. She rose just as quickly, attaining a firm hold on the hood of his green sweatshirt. "No, Puck," she said. "You're going to tell me. I'm tired of waiting for answers, and I want to know what it made you feel inside."

A scowl danced across his face, and he looked in the other direction, as if for a distraction from the moment. Nothing came.

"Fine. I'll tell you. You know what? I kinda liked it. Don't go getting any ideas."

"I did too," Sabrina breathed, quiet and in wonderment.

"What's wrong with us? One day we're pranking and yelling, as usual, and before three days have passed we're two emotional messes of hormones. I mean, you are. I don't have hormones, because I don't age and stuff…at least I try not to, but you're messing that up now, aren't you?"

"Puberty is confusing, you know?" Sabrina fell back onto the ground, arms outspread in exasperation and exhaustion.

"I know. I wouldn't have to know if I had the choice, though."

"Oh, save it."

Both were silent and contemplative for a solid fifteen minutes.

"You know?" Puck mused. "Your life can't suck this bad forever. It'll get better, trust me. It has to."

"Sometimes it's like there's no picturesque little happily ever after for me. Everything just sucks more the more I think about it."

Puck, for the umpteenth time that week, did something unexpected. He extended his green-clad arm and grasped her fingers gently against the dead leaf carpet.

"What are you doing?" Sabrina squinted and shook her head.

"Like I said. Something is taking over my brain. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Sabrina had to stifle a laugh. "Welcome to my world."

High over their heads, the sky turned pink in the setting sun. Another day had passed.

**Please review. I thrive on feedback **** And to Lara D, I don't think I'll be killing you anytime soon. No sweat. Dreamgreen16 and Lara D : your awesome reviews just made me smile so big, I couldn't delete them from my email alerts. Thanks to everybody else who reviews, too, because I never thought anybody would like my stuff this much. It feels awesome.**


	14. Plotting and Failures

**You have not lived until you have written FanFiction in your car, on your laptop, while eating pound cake from a local gas station and traveling to a funeral. That's what I'm doing right now, as I write this chapter, so unlike many of you who have not lived. **

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. Unless I'm Michael Buckley having a serious identity crisis. That happened to someone I know – she got exhausted from planning her wedding and working in the church and whole crapload of stuff, and she woke up one day and didn't know who she was or where she was. She didn't recognize her own mother. Thankfully, she's okay now. Memory back and everything.**

As the night spread its fingers over the meadow in which the three fugitives resided, Sabrina felt the weight of the day's confusion lift from her shoulders. In its place settled an unshakable desire to return to the Grimm house. She wondered aloud whether the coast atop the hill was clear yet.

"Are you crazy, Grimm?" exclaimed Puck. "What, you think they all went home to their beds or there then, they're there now."

Although his logic was sound and his point undisputable, the unsettlement in her mind would be eased, she was certain, only by the guarantee that she wasn't missing out on a warm bed and her family tonight. What would have been even better would have been actually being _in_ her warm bed, near her family. And so, with tooth and nail at the ready, she began negotiations.

"Well, why shouldn't we just check? None of the Hand members are really terribly intelligent, we're sneaky, and we've got weapons. I am not missing out on any chance to get back home."

"Yeah," said Daphne, "that would be nice, getting home. But I think both of you have forgotten about one very important member of the family, and he needs our help."

Sabrina and Puck both turned a puzzled eye in the direction of Daphne, whose eyes were fiery and jaw clenched.

"_Elvis!_ How could you forget Elvis? He's as important as anybody else in the family."

"Just why, Marshmallow," asked Puck, "didn't you mention this little issue before?"

_ "_Because I thought you two weren't totally clueless, and that you just wanted to get home and plan before we went back out to rescue him! But apparently, that's not gonna happen 'cause of all those stupid monsters outside our house. So I don't understand why you don't want to just go get him now."

"Daphne, sweetie," said Sabrina soothingly, "we care about Elvis as much as you do. But right now we need to worry about getting home and letting our parents and Granny and the rest of the army know we're all alive and have all of our limbs."

Daphne's red bottom lip protruded obstinately.

"Tell you what," negotiated Puck. "As soon as we get home, if we can, we'll get help and rescue the dog. They have no reason to kill him, so he'll probably be safe. Actually, they might use him as a last-ditch blackmail attempt to draw us back out. He'll be fine."

"Okay," replied the young girl. "But you have to promise that we'll try to rescue him!"

"We do, Marshmallow," said Puck firmly.

"Yup. Pretty much," followed Sabrina. "But I'm thinking that in order to get home and get prepared, we have to actually go home. Let's go."

"I'm warning you," admonished Puck. "Don't get your hopes up. They're probably still there!"

"I know," said Sabrina. "Just give a desperate kid her hope, will you?"

He held her gaze firmly for a few seconds, causing her to look away and blush furiously. He then proceeded to scoop the two sisters up and shoot from the cave at lightning speed, much to the dismay of Sabrina's churning stomach.

The flight across the town felt like the lengthiest Sabrina had yet endured. Everything in sight and earshot seemed to slow down with the early evening rhythm. Crickets' music had slowed to the patterns of a waltz, and the stars above were radiant. The dark trees emitted sounds that were altogether too bizarre – hissing and growls and crackling. Several creatures stuck their heads from the canopy of the treetops. They caught sight of a darting monkey (this was Ferryport Landing, after all), a calling crow, and once a dragon's huge amber snout far into the distant horizon (which beat monkeys any day). Sabrina felt Puck shudder the slightest bit at the sight of the fiery head.

**Puck**

The house was illuminated in the light of the bright moon. It looked like the set of a movie about the extraterrestrial – maybe E.T. Puck felt his muscles tense beneath his raggedy sweatshirt the moment he saw something twitch below, in the dense foliage of the forest by the house. "Sabrina and Daphne," he said, feeling his voice vibrating in his throat. "I'm going to turn around right now…we're going back to the cave."

"What?" hissed an infuriated Sabrina. "We just got here! We haven't done any recon or anything!"

Puck, unable to lift a finger to his lips as a result of Daphne occupying the arm that was not carrying Sabrina, shushed her in near silence.

"Something's moving down there," he breathed. He was getting tired of this talk. Hovering in one place was hard work.

"So? For all we know, it was an innocent squirrel. If it was the Hand, they haven't spotted us yet – we're too high up. Just land in back and scan a little."

His wings were tired and he wanted to go home with the Grimms. He would have said he wanted his mother, except his mother was a crazy, stubborn fairy who, up until recently, had been backing his late father in the order that he should marry _another _crazy stubborn fairy who had turned out to be homicidal. In short, his mother was not the type a child would cry for.

Giving in to exhaustion and the whims of Sabrina, he landed in back of the house with the two girls. Sabrina jumped out of his arm at once, but Daphne appeared to have fallen asleep. It was past her bedtime already, and she'd been through a lot in the past few days. Heck, she'd been through a lot in the past two years! With Daphne being such a heavy sleeper, there was positively no point in attempting to wake her. They simply laid her in the soft green grass and snuck around the side of the house. The bushes rustled with the slight breeze, which soothed his pounding heart. All seemed well. They might actually be able to get inside and therefore to safety. Hang on – what was he afraid of? Of course they would get to safety. He was the Trickster King! He could beat any foe! He was certain.

Until the cold, slippery hands grabbed at his throat.

**My thanks to Dreamgreen16, IceCreamGurl (the end of her name has some numbers but I can't remember them and I can't get a connection in the car to look them up), and Lara D, as well as Mackenzie. I missed your reviews, M! Sorry your computer shut down. I don't know what I would do if I had to go without my FF. And, Lara D, I understand the giggling impulse. Back when I was eleven, had no account, and was still writing "anonymous" at the top of my reviews (I might have actually done that to one of yours once or twice), a couple people copied my review into the A/N and thanked me. I skipped and giggled all night long :DD I still do! To IceCreamGurl, my socks are most definitely rocked. And so are my friend Sammi's. **


	15. The Madness Never Stops

**Chapter 15, peeps! This is mainly a filler, with some mild Puckabrina fluff thrown in so I don't bore you to tears. Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I figured I'd wait till I got in a writing mood so I wouldn't try too hard and write a lame chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers – you're making me very happy with all the reviewing. Fifty-two reviews! It just makes me smile :D Okay, now to the rounds: Simply Pirate – thx. Your comments are appreciated. Translation: When I saw your review (it was like the only one that day or something) I resisted the urge run out and hug a random person on my street. Dreamgreen16 and Lara D – Thx as always. I always think about you two (and a whole bunch of others) when I'm writing the chapters. Also, my thx to Coraline Lucy Puckett, and to Tazzy, no, actually it's not Bella. Great guess, though.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. **

Sabrina felt a cold, ominous hand grasp her neck. The touch was so bitingly evil that at once she was conscious of the danger – this was not Puck's hand. In a fit of off-topic thought, she wondered why Puck would grab her neck from behind in the first place…

Almost immediately, though, her attention was once again claimed by the matter at hand.

The next few moments were a blur. After five minutes of vicious kicking and screaming and weeping, she was thrust roughly into a burlap sack of abnormally large size. Not once was she graced with a glimpse of her captor's face before the bag was tied up and she was carted off to what she presumed would be her doom. Instead of death, however, she found herself being thrown into what felt like the back of a pickup truck. Through the fibers of the sack she could see the exhaust trailing from the red pickup and two other burlap lumps inhabiting the wagon. The Grimm house was quickly disappearing into the background, a concerned, wrinkled old face peeking through the window. Granny Relda. She then noticed the red front door open and watched her beautiful mother run after the pickup truck –obviously relieved to see her daughters alive and weeping at the sight of them confined as animals.

As the trees closed in behind the moving truck, she shook the developing film of tears from her eyes and strained to see the other sacks before her through the crisscrossed material of her little prison. From one, a slightly smaller package, was emitted a loud snoring. Poor Daphne. Her wake-up call wouldn't be a pleasant one. At least she'd slept through the horror, in typical Daphne fashion.

Looking over at what had to be Puck's sack, she noticed that the burlap was in the position of someone with his head tucked into his knees. Wiping her swollen red eyes, she spoke shakily.

"You okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You're imprisoned in a sack and being carted off in the back of pickup truck, possibly to your death." To her relief, she felt her voice growing stronger.

"Excellent point, Grimm. But you're forgetting that I am the infamous Trickster King, and I've always got an ingenious plan."

"Except for when you don't."

"Another excellent point," he admitted reluctantly.

"So."

"So."

"How do you want to get us out of this mess, Mr. Trickster?"

"Maybe I'll ask the alien possessors in my brain, you know the ones we got so closely acquainted with a while back?"

"It could work," Sabrina chuckled.

"Or, then again, we might not!" He exclaimed. Sabrina detected a note of mirthful incredulity in his voice.

"Whaddaya mean?" she asked. "Suddenly got a plan, have you?"

"Let's put it this way," he said. "When do you think they'll realize they left us in unguarded sacks with the backpack that has all the knives and magical weapons in it? I swear, they'll never learn."

"Oh my gosh," giggled Sabrina joyfully. "You've still got it? Cut yourself out now! We can go home after all!"

The moonlight seemed to increase the intensity of its beams with the rise of Sabrina's joy.

"You know," said Puck, "What if we don't go home just yet? What if we let them put us back in that dungeon thing, escape into the mansion and do some…_spying_?"

"And rescue Elvis," came a sleepy voice from Daphne's little burlap jail cell. "We can go in and get him out and they won't know till we're gone."

"Hey, Marshmallow," replied Puck. "I assume you've been listening in for a while now?"

"Yup." Once again, loud snoring punctuated the cool night air. Daphne was presumably out cold again.

"I don't know about this," said Sabrina. "First of all, it's like asking for trouble. And second of all, they might be dumb, but they're not dumb enough to leave us with the whole bag after the stunt we pulled with the powder last time." Despite her apparent reluctance, a chance to strike back had already chained her heart and locked her into place for a dangerous mission.

"Yeah, like I didn't know that. Oh thank you, Greatest Grimm, for alerting me to the perfectly obvious."

Sabrina huffed and scowled behind the confines of her sack. "Whatever. So what're you gonna do about it?"

She heard some mumbling in response, though it clearly was not focused on her. A slight pop ensued, and her curiosity bubbled a bit between her ears. What could he possibly be doing?

It was as if he had the capability to peer into her ear canals and read her thoughts. "The wand is pretty good at creating unlimited pocket space," he said.

"Wow," Sabrina replied. "Maybe there is a brain somewhere in your skull."

"If you didn't think there was, you're the one who's lacking in brains."

"Whatever. Be careful with those pocketknives; I don't know if we lost any of the sheaths and it's not safe for you to be carrying uncovered knives in your pocket."

"S'okay," he said absentmindedly. "They're covered…"

For a moment Sabrina heard nothing but the continuous clink of items descending to the depths of Puck's now-endless pockets.

Suddenly the clinking of metal and wood and the crinkling of plastic sandwich bags ceased to decorate the air alongside the hum of the motor of the truck and eight-year-old snoring.

"You're really sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah. It was my idea, wasn't it?"

"Fine. But once we have Elvis and the information, we run like it's going out of style."

"That was the plan."

Another pause.

"Sabrina?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to know that I'm sorry I've been such a jerk in the past."

"You're not serious, are you? You've apologized an awful lot lately."

"Well," Puck said solemnly, "I'll apologize again. I just figured we've both come really come close to ending up dragon meat, and it would be a real shame if you died and you thought I actually looked down on you as much as I act like I do."

"Well, seeing as you kinda kissed me and all, I didn't think you really hated me that much. But I appreciate the thought, I really do…" she grinned a bit to herself, feeling peculiar warmth spread through her heart. She closed her eyes and let a small smile settle on her features.

"I just wanted you to know," he said softly, as a cool breeze drifted over the flatbed of the truck.

**PLEASE READ: Okay. I love it when you guys review, and I know that I don't mention every reviewer in my author's notes. I'm sorry if you feel like I don't care about your messages. I immensely appreciate them, and I could probably name all the people who have reviewed so far. If I don't reply in an author's note, please don't think I don't appreciate feedback. It simply means that I don't have anything particularly witty or important besides "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU" to say back. I love that you guys review, so don't quit on me! Thank you 3**

**I don't know if I'll write again this week, 'cuz I've got the stupid CRCT test. Can we say stress? I'll try to put something out there if you want me to, though. **


	16. Dungeons with Cold Floors

**Okay, time to make the rounds! Mackenzie, my favorite candy bar is either Butterfinger or Snickers. Hello and many thanks as usual to my reviewers – jabberwockylover13, Lara D, Dreamgreen16, sistersgrimm97, Coraline Lucy Puckett, and Mackenzie! Thx for the encouragement!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Sisters Grimm, I wouldn't have to write about them on FanFiction, now would I? This story would actually be in the books!**

Sabrina's stinging eyes popped wide when she was flung quite roughly to what she presumed to be the dusty drive in front of the mansion, still encased in her burlap sack. She lay silently for a few seconds, listening to her captors shuffle about. Now that she was given the opportunity to surmise a bit about the identity of her captors, she listened intently. Their voices were deep and cold and muffled, enshrouding her mind in a chilling haze. It was as though a gag had been made of Death and stuffed into their throats. They chilled the inside of her stomach, giving her arms goose bumps with the very substance of their voices. If they sounded as spooky as this, she could only begin to fathom what they must look like. Possibly something like the dementors of Azkaban. That would explain the chilly, evil hands.

She was becoming a bit nauseous from the ghastly voices when her breath was suddenly knocked straight from her lungs by a heavy impact with a large object. The large object felt a heck of a lot like her sister, and the snoring emitted from the bag clued her in as to the sack's contents. Remarkably, Daphne remained unaware and unawake. Only Daphne, thought Sabrina. Only Daphne.

Another sack was thrown to the ground beside her, and from Puck's agonized yet barely audible grunt she supposed he had landed on the backpack, now filled with magic-created rocks so the emptiness of the pack wouldn't arouse the suspicion of the Hand.

Now awakened from her drowsy nausea, she managed to wriggle the sleeping and imprisoned Daphne onto the ground beside her rather than on top of her ribs. Breathing a newly unencumbered breath deep into her alveoli, she whispered in a breathy voice to Puck, as silent as she could manage.

"You okay?"

"Of course. You ready to play James Bond?"

"I can't believe you! You're 'a villain of the worst kind' and now you're about to infiltrate the enemy HQ!"  
"They've tried to kill me before, therefore I can most certainly kick their butts while maintaining my diabolical reputation."

"I can't believe you."

"You can't believe my _awesomeness_."

"No, I can't believe you know what diabolical means."

She had scarcely time to say anything more before a couple of bony claw-like hands wedged themselves under her burlap-clad back and lifted her into the air. The feeling was uneasy, unbalanced. Like she was hovering on the edge of a precipice, half of her dangling above the ground and the other half supported. For the first time in her entire experience in the sack, she began to feel a desperate longing to burst free and see her surroundings clearly. She'd never been much of a claustrophobic, but she found herself feeling quite lonely and restricted (which she was) inside the stupid little primitive bag. Unfortunately, even if she'd had a mind to, she couldn't have broken from the sack. The burlap, she noted, appeared to be as strong as the bones of an ox.

When the air grew less chilly and the closing of the mansion's oak doors sounded throughout the hall, Sabrina knew they were inside the mansion. As the light flooding through the cloth grew dimmer and dripping water could be heard, she realized that they were approaching the dungeons.

Puck, of course, maintained his usual cocky façade. He jested at the creatures mercilessly, which always seemed to infuriate Nottingham and Heart and the rest of the Hand to their last strand of patience. However, the cold beings continued to breathe their cold and steady rhythm, gliding over the floor indifferently. Puck eventually gave up, since no faces had yet reddened. Not that he would have seen them redden anyway, considering he was closed into his cramped sack.

They were roughly dumped from their sacks onto the cold floor in the torch-lit dungeon. For what Sabrina was sure was the first time ever, she and Puck shared a secret grin. Daphne, hitting the floor of the stone dungeon, burst fully awake. Finally.

"Ouch," she said sleepily. "What'd I miss?" She never got an answer to her question, as her jaw almost immediately dropped in awe of their spooky captors.

The guards – whatever they were - in their trailing black cloaks and voluminous hoods, raised their black-clad hands, levitating the backpack that supposedly contained their belongings. It mysteriously drifted through the dank air, straight into the waiting clutches of the strange creatures.

Three mouths dropped open simultaneously. Alarmed and unnerved, Sabrina wondered where on earth these things could have come from, and what they might be. Luckily, they seemed none the wiser to the backpack trick, and glided out of the room like darkness from the sky – gradually and gracefully.

Of course, Nottingham's pride would never allow him to neglect his opportunity for a victory lecture. He strutted in, potbelly jiggling, no more than five minutes beyond the exit of the mysterious creatures. Sabrina couldn't force herself to consider them people – there was far too much of an inhuman quality about their voices, their movement, and their lack of speech.

"So," Nottingham began. "Once again I believe we've proved that the Hand is destined to defeat your wretched family. You simply can't evade us for very long, as you've so unfortunately learned. As you'll notice, we've confiscated your bag, so you won't be pulling any more _stunts._

"I would have your heads this very second," (Sabrina saw his evil eyes drift hungrily to the dagger sheathed at his side) "but poor Mayor Heart will want to be here for that. She's across town for the moment, working out a few details with the Master. Fortunately for you, we've no mind to disrupt the proceedings over there - "

"You mean you don't want to bother your little cowardly Master and his minions, do you?" Puck chimed in cheekily.

Nottingham continued in a flustered manner. "You've got a few days to say your goodbyes to each other and hope you've lived a good life." Believing he was victorious, Nottingham laughed evilly. The floor was sprayed with a few drops of glistening saliva. Sabrina nearly retched. She watched the noisome Everafter stalk from the room, and then stop abruptly at the doorway out of the dungeons corridor.

"And you," he spat at Puck, "would do far better to make no nuisance of yourself. Your childish pranks can't break you out this time." His eyes glinted sinisterly as he turned from the dimly lit dungeons and stalked up the stairs to the outside world. Immediately after his departure, card soldiers rushed to the scene and waved a wand or two, and as soon as they were in they were gone. Sabrina assumed that that magical shield-thingy was now in action.

"So," she said absentmindedly. She paused a minute, letting her eyes rest and her vision go fuzzy. She realized that, not for the first time this week, she was feeling the beginnings of unconquerable drowsiness. Shaking the fatigue from her muscles and regaining her wits, she continued.

"Do we start tonight?"

"Actually," Puck replied, "I don't think so. One, we shouldn't immediately let them realize we can get out if we want a few days to get information. Two, you're like the walking – excuse me, sitting – dead. It wouldn't exactly help for you to fall asleep and drool all over the place."

"You make a good point," she yawned. "But do we really want to stick around for a while? I mean, what will we do during the days? Won't Daphne be uncomfortable?"

"I'll be fine!" said Daphne. "We have to stay and get Elvis…" True to Puck's words, she was still exhausted. She passed out midsentence and was asleep as fast as a pin drops to the floor with a _plink._

Puck shook his head toward the snoring Daphne, smiling. "Always thinking of the Marshmallow, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah. You're always worried about her. Now why don't you go to sleep? You know we all need the rest." His voice was soft and gentle. _Why? _Sabrina wondered. _Just last week he was gluing things to my face and rubbing my toothbrush in pepper, and by now he's kissed me and saved me over and over and held me through a mental breakdown. How did this happen, and why?_

Things with Puck had been strange and confusing lately. It was unnerving – and yet it filled her with a weird, warm churning in her stomach. Every time he talked softly or kindly, her heart jumped a bit and her pulse sped up.

She lay down on the cement and lowered her cheek – only to shriek quickly and bolt straight up once again. The freezing ground was a shock to her flushed cheek.

"Ground cold?" he chuckled. She nodded.

He extended one wing and lay down on his side. "Put your head on my wing. It'll be more comfortable."

Wordlessly, Sabrina maneuvered so she was on her side facing away from Puck, head on his wing. He had been right. It was far more comfortable, soft and warm. She curled into a ball, knees up to her chest. She let her eyelids drift closed slowly, relieving the tired sting in her eyes. She felt her breathing even out. In a few moments, she was fast asleep, dreaming about who knows what.

She wasn't awake to know that he moved a little closer. She never knew he smoothed her hair off her forehead, rubbed her shoulder, and whispered softly in her ear:

"Sweet dreams, Sabrina Grimm."

**And CUT! Okay, sorry it took me so long to update. I had no inspiration whatsoever, and then yesterday I finally got over my writer's block and churned out a chapter. REVIEW! And also please enter Lara D's and my challenge. We're excited to get entries!**


	17. Playing James Bond

**Hello, people! I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. I had a bad case of writers block and miles of homework to do, but now I'm out of school and I'll be updating frequently. I missed having a new chapter posted! And thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, because every review meant a bunch to me. I'm only not naming you because you know who you are :D**

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm, clearly.**

Sabrina came to with her face buried in something soft. Her aching back and limbs were deliciously warm, and for a moment she was certain that the whole last five or six days – she'd lost count – had merely been a horrible nightmare. A groan of blissful relief escaped her throat, which had that early morning hoarse feeling. She felt warm and well rested, and was ready to face another highly abnormal day in the Grimm household when she let her sleepy eyelids slide open lazily.

And then the bomb descended on her unsuspecting head. She was, in fact, not in her room. She was in the same old austere and cheerless dungeon with the grimy walls. She was also in quite a pickle.

Or something green, anyway. Her face was smashed into Puck's ancient green hoodie. She felt his arm draped over her side, with his wings wrapped around the both of them.

Just as her slowly drifting eyes reached his face, his eyes popped open, revealing two wide (and like Sabrina's horrified face and his dirty hoodie, green) irises. The reaction was instantaneous.

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Both screamed simultaneously. A flurry of flying blonde hair and flailing limbs left the two on opposite ends of the cell, clinging to the walls for dear life and breathing rather heavily.

"Good morning, sunshines!" Daphne chirped. "I see you've finally realized that you're perfect for each other!"

"What the…how…my head hurts!" Sabrina exclaimed wearily.

"Guess you just can't resist me, Grimm." Puck grinned.

"Well, I would think up some insulting comeback, but there are no words to describe your extreme stupidity," Sabrina countered ferociously.

"Guys, guys!" Daphne giggled. "It's a little late to pretend you hate each other, you know!"

"Let's get one thing straight," Sabrina growled. "That _thing _and I are not in love, have not ever _been _in love, and do not ever plan to ever _be_ in love. Whatever happened was absolutely nothing except an accident. I can't help whatever happened when we were asleep, got it? Besides, I'm twelve!"

"Oh, Grimm. You know you can't resist me." Puck smirked.

"Do you _want _me to like you? 'Cause it's starting to sound a whole lot like you wish I did!"

"Oh, you two are a riot," Daphne giggled. "You can go on denying it, but I know you like each other and nothing's going to stop the truth. Now shut up and get some food out of the bag – err, pockets."

Still shivering from the horror and humiliation, Sabrina gingerly nibbled the hard bread and sipped on the warm water that remained from her once ample food supplies. Maybe the Hand wouldn't kill them all – maybe they would simply die of doing without anything flavorful whatsoever for a week.

Since there would be no point in any reconnaissance mission till late into the night, the children were forced to pass their day in the grim, colorless dungeon, with nothing but a clandestine deck of cards that Sabrina had left in her backpack. When the goods made the transfer to Puck's endless pockets, her cards had traveled with them. Whenever one of the guards passed by, they were forced to speedily conceal the cards. Revealing them would mean alerting the guards to their having equipment and food in the cell.

Strangely, though numerous card soldiers strutted past, there was no further appearance of the sinister black clad beings. This was nothing to be unhappy about, Sabrina decided.

When Sabrina had uttered "go fish" so many times it felt as though she was incapable of saying anything other (and blushed about thirty times when forced to speak to Puck), she noticed that the guards no longer passed by. A quick glance at Daphne's Hello Kitty watch (a birthday present from Granny) and a stifled yawn from Puck confirmed her inference that it was well past ten o' clock. No wonder she was so incredibly sick of card games – she'd been playing them for a full twelve hours or more.

"Well," Puck drawled. "I guess it's time to set out. I'll get the powdery junk outa my pocket."

"Fine," Sabrina said softly, blushing yet again. "Daphne, I've been thinking, and I want you to stay here tonight. If we get caught, I'd rather you not face the consequences."

"But I want to come! You never let me in on this stuff!"

"I'm sorry, but it's safer this way. We'll leave you with some stuff to escape if it comes to that." As if on cue, Puck stuffed some of the blue powder into Daphne's blue jeans pocket.

"This lowers minor magical reinforcements," he whispered. "It'll help you get past shields and whatever. And this," he grinned, "will help you get through whatever else is in your way." He handed her the magic wand.

"Puck!" Sabrina whispered frantically. "We're going to need that!"

"Not if everything goes as planned. And wouldn't you rather her have some kind of defense with her?" He countered thoughtfully. Sabrina huffed in submission.

"And one more thing," Puck said suddenly. "If you need us back here, if you need any help with something you can't handle yourself, I want you to sing as loud as you can. But only if there's absolutely no way to help yourself and only if it's bad enough for us to need to get out tonight."

"Can I sing Love Story?" Daphne smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the two meaningfully.

"Uh…why not just something simple, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?"

"No, I think I'll sing something _romantic."_

"You know, I know Grimm can't get enough of my beastly awesomeness, but that's no reason to humiliate her like that." Puck was clearly attempting to sound cocky, but his words barely disguised his blush. Sabrina felt a mixture of embarrassment and the urge to giggle.

After Puck and Sabrina had used the magic powder to remove the magical reinforcements on the cell, Puck morphed into a mouse and scurried between the iron bars. After retrieving the keys and removing himself and Sabrina from the dungeon, he locked the door once again. Pressing one finger to her lips, Sabrina ducked beside the stairwell leading out of the room. She motioned for Puck to join her.

He halted at the other side of doorway, then waved to Sabrina to cross the threshold in a mockery of gentlemanly manners. Despite her previous enthusiasm, however, Sabrina didn't move. He waved her through once more, but she remained rooted to the spot, eyes reflecting the torchlight.

"Um, hello? Grimm? Anyone home in there?" Puck knocked jokingly on her skull.

"I can't do it," she whispered anxiously. "This is stupid! You're always saying we get into a lot of trouble, and we've been kidnapped! We should just be smart about it and break out of the place! I mean, what kind of idiots go on a _spy mission? _The last time I heard of kids going on a spy mission, it was a dumb chick flick about middle school prep girls. How dumb is that?"

"Very, very dumb," said Puck. "Incredibly dumb. But you're no stranger to doing dumb stuff, and Charming's army could use a whammy solution right now. So, for the good of the army, and because creepy stalker guys are waiting to kill you in your own yard, we should probably stick to this plan."

"I guess you're right," Sabrina breathed a sigh of semi-relief at the reassurances. After all, this _was_ Ferryport Landing, after all. Nothing was normal or rational here.

"Oh," Puck piped. "And one more thing – can we call it a reconnaissance mission instead? That sounds eighty bazillion times cooler."

Actually it did. Reconnaissance it was.

As the two kids had expected, there was a card watchmen, but, also as expected, he was dozing in a chair. These sorry excuses for villains never learned. They made the same mistakes over and over.

The mansion at night was far more villainous than in the day. The shocking scarlet handprints and other Hand propaganda now adorning the walls were disturbing enough, but in the darkness, they made the whole place resemble a dark, deadly haunted house. Sabrina felt a familiar chill run up her spine, as if something were waiting to descend upon her and Puck. And it was quite possible that that was the case.

Somehow, no communication was needed to determine their destination. Their logic whispered the best place to begin as soon as they set foot into the hallway: Mayor Heart's office. They tiptoed as silently as they could manage through the dark corridors, a talent of Sabrina's and no weakness of Puck's. They succeeded in creeping quietly past several guards stationed by doors leading to the outside and to rooms of which one could only guess about the contents.

After several close calls with patrolling card soldiers, they finally reached a door with a bronze plaque. **Mayor Heart, PhD.**

"PhD?" Puck whispered, holding back giggles. "If Heart's a PhD, I'm a hog!"

"Well then," Sabrina replied softly. "Heart must be a PhD." This earned a scowl from said hog.

Puck let the expression fall off his face, and then stood up straight and tall to open the door. He and Sabrina both cringed when it creaked loudly, but he managed to swing it far enough ajar to enter without too much noise.

They began by searching a large file cabinet with promisingly labeled drawers, like "POW files" and "military strategy." It seemed all too easy – no hitches, no setbacks, not even the slightest difficulty in finding information. Sabrina felt the wary side of her tense up and wait for something to go very wrong.

"Hey, look at this!" Puck whispered excitedly. "It's the Hand's plans for attack!"

"No time to look. Just put it in your pocket," Sabrina replied, all business on the outside. Inside, however, she felt her heart leap through her chest. This was real. It was happening, and it could help them win the war. Maybe this mission wasn't so stupid after all…

The next few minutes were spent simply stuffing every possible file and scrap into the large front pocket of Puck's hoodie, which was in a more deplorable condition than Sabrina had ever seen it. _It really is time to wash that awful sweatshirt, _she thought, mentally shaking her head. Puck and his filth. He was always so –

Puck, wide-eyed, clapped a hand over her mouth and grabbed her around the waist, dragging her frantically to the corner of the room where the moonlight from the window did not reach. He yanked her down beside him behind a pile of cardboard boxes stashed behind a full length mirror. Keeping his hand on her mouth and wrapping his arm more securely around her, he whispered exceedingly softly.

"Stay very, very still. Don't say anything." She felt his breath blow warm on her ear, and did as she was told, while straining to hear the threat. Her questions were answered a moment later, as Puck tightened his grip on her waist dramatically when the sound grew louder.

Footsteps tapped on the corridor floors.

**Well, okay then! Once again, I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I will not be making a habit out of this! Thanks again for my reviewers – each one makes me churn inside, very happily of course. Okay, so now that summer is here, I will be updating regularly, although this particular story is almost finished. Yes, that's right, folks, there will be an ending very soon. I'm talking two more chapters, three tops. I already know how it's going to end, and so does my BFF (who calls me her dear deranged best friend, by the way), and I think you'll like it pretty well. Thx for your support!**


	18. For Which I Can't Think of a Smart Name

**Chapter eighteen, I think! Okay, I really need to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I have not abandoned the story, but I suffered from writer's block and Sleep-till-2 PM syndrome. No jokes here – I was just lazy and uninspired. But I am back, peeplez, and the story will continue for about one more chapter, two tops. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, because I appreciate them all, every one. Last chapter it was Mackenzie, Tazzy, Dreamgreen16, simplypirate, feministgrimm, and GirlUdon'tMessWith. You guys are beastly!**

Sabrina felt her pulse beating furiously beneath her skin. She crushed herself as far back into the corner as possible. Unfortunately, this meant crushing herself closer to Puck, which was never an ideal situation. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and hiding behind a full length mirror in the Scarlet Hand's headquarters with footsteps growing closer every second is almost always considered a desperate time.

She was remarkably conscious of his arm still encircling her waist. Of course, as soon as he saw her blushing and peering down at his arm, he ripped it away, silently, of course. It had actually felt rather pleasant, and in spite of herself, she was glad not to be alone. Unfortunately, it also brought back memories of the kiss in the meadow, which caused her to blush all over again.

_Shut up, Sabrina, you're smarter than that. It's Puck, for Pete's sake! Don't go ditzy now, _she told herself.

The footsteps must be nearly in the room by now – they had been pounding steadily for at least fifteen seconds, steady as rain on asphalt. With each tap, Sabrina's heart rate increased by an eighth. She breathed deeply to quiet it. If any heartbeat was loud enough to give them away, it would be hers in the instant right before the feet began to pad along on the office carpet. By peeking through the cracks in the pile of cardboard boxes, they realized that the feet belonged to Nottingham, who was flanked by two of the ominous black clad guards from before. The question hovering above their heads descended once more – who were these creatures? Where had they come from and what did they do? Sabrina was quite sure she had heard nothing about them or anything similar in any fairy tale before. In a weird way, they reminded her of Darth Vader.

"Are you sure?" Nottingham growled. "Are you sure you heard someone in here? If you're mistaken, I'll be forced to tell the Master to have you dismantled…"

Sabrina and Puck shared a questioning glance. Dismantled? Peering through the crack once more, she saw the creature bob its hooded head up and down. It truly wasn't much of a bob, however. More like a drifting motion. The other creature emitted a raspy series of whispers that chilled Sabrina to the bone. Nottingham remained skeptical. "Then where are they?" he implored.

Both creatures silently raised their hooded heads upward, eerily sniffing out the premises. They began to glide to the file cabinet directly in front of the two teens' hiding spot. Nottingham suspiciously eyed the open drawers and scattered papers, and then turned quietly and stepped as softly as possible in the general direction of their hiding spot. Sabrina could feel Puck's pounding pulse in time with her own as the corners of Nottingham's mouth turned upward in a wry smile, his eyes shifting from side to side as he continued toward the mirror and boxes.

Just when Sabrina felt she would burst in dreadful anticipation, Puck whispered almost imperceptibly in her ear.

"In three seconds, get out as fast as you can and go get Marshmallow. I'll meet you outside."

At first Sabrina struggled to discern the near silent words in her ear, but she nodded.

One.

Two.

Three.

Just as Nottingham toppled the tower of cardboard boxes covering their hiding place, Sabrina mustered all her strength and threw herself across the carpet as fast as she could, adrenaline racing. Nottingham jumped back so quickly that he knocked into the ugly Darth Vader things and landed between them on the mound of papers. Sabrina felt the urge to giggle at the shocked expression on his face, but she was already leaving the doorway and racing down the hall at top speed. Leaving stunned card soldiers in her wake, she shot like a rocket until she reached the entrance to the dungeons (again, what was a dungeon doing in a twenty-first century building? It just sounded weirder the longer she considered it).

"DAPHNE! USE THE WAND AND GET YOURSELF OUT HERE, PRONTO!" Sabrina found herself yelling at the top of her lungs, and then stopped herself for fear of being caught. She then realized it made no difference anyway. They already knew she was here.

Unfortunately, she hadn't bargained on the card soldier keeping watch over the cell to come forth with a broom raised over his head. Concentrating all her strength, she raised a fist and swung a mighty punch directly between his eyes. He toppled over like the flimsy little pompous piece of paper he was, and the broom he was still holding clattered on the stone floor. Sabrina felt rather proud of herself. But back to more important matters.

DPOV

Daphne heard Sabrina shout from around the corner, and was brandishing the Wand of Merlin when she saw the guard stand up and grab a wooden broom, running after her sister. He looked rather silly with the broom raised above his head, scampering around the corner like an idiot. She could have predicted what played out next – the invisible but resonant smack, the sound of the broom falling on the floor. All in a day's work, at least for Sabrina or Daphne.

She had to hurry. Sabrina was waiting, and obviously something was wrong. "Coming, Sabrina!" she shouted, whispering a quick spell ("Gimme some jelly!") to the wand. It effectively transformed the cell bars into the most delicious strawberry jelly Daphne had ever tasted, and right before they crashed to the floor she grabbed a sticky handful and raced from the cell. The stuff was fruity and smooth, and it tasted superb after days of stale crackers and bread and such.

Sabrina was flushed and panting, and her blue eyes were wide. "What happened?" Daphne inquired. Her sister looked stirred up.

"We got caught," Sabrina said. "Those creepy dark things and Nottingham got us in Heart's office, so I split and Puck's holding them off. We have to get out of here now, we're meeting Puck out front."

"But what about Elvis?"

Sabrina sighed. "Daphne, we can't –"

"You said that last time, and the time before that, and the time before that! We're not abandoning him any longer!" And before she could protest, Daphne was out the door and sprinting down the corridor, in the opposite direction of the exit to the front lawn, with Sabrina calling after her. "Elvis! Can you hear me?"

An anxious howl answered her. It had come from far away – maybe up the stairs. Daphne called again, and after listening one more time, she was sure it had come from above her. She hightailed it to the grand staircase in the front hall, where no guards or black dementor-thingies were bustling as of yet. She went as fast as her short legs could carry her up the stairs, calling as she went. The howls got closer and closer, until she arrived at a plain brown door adorned with a disgusting portrait of Mayor Heart posing in a feather boa. It was trembling from the strength of the Great Dane behind it. A single key hung on a hook next to the door, and after unlocking the door she threw it open. Luckily it opened outward, because the inside had no room for anything else to enter – it was an itty bitty janitor's closet stuffed to capacity with brooms, mops, buckets, and crazed Great Dane.

Elvis toppled Daphne to the ground with slobbery, affectionate kisses. "Aw, Elvis, you didn't actually think I would leave you in this awful place, did you?" Daphne cooed, sitting up and hugging the dog around the neck. Once he finished bestowing his slobber on her face, she stood up, smoothed her shirt, and turned around to lead her friend out, only to stop dead in her tracks.

Three of the awful black Darth Vader things blocked the hall, and on her other side was a dead end. She was caught between her rock and her hard place. Fortunately, Daphne never hesitated for a moment, though she did stop to arrange her war face and assume the fighting stance she'd learned with Snow White in the Bad Apples class.

"You know what to do, boy," she said menacingly. "Ready? Okay. CHARGE!"

SPOV

Sabrina raced to the front lawn, praying Puck had made it out. "Puck!" She cried.

"Right here, Ugly." He swooped down to the ground directly in front of her. "My, you do look fresh from the pit of hideousness this fine evening, don't you? Hang on a minute, where's the Marshmallow?"

"She ran off to get Elvis. I tried to stop her, but she ran off so fast I couldn't do anything."

"You mean you didn't run off after her?"

"Well," Sabrina huffed, "it's kinda hard to rescue your little sister if you're captured along with her, you know?"

"Good point. Now's the part where we rescue the kid and the dog and split, right?"

"I'm guessing you're wondering if you can go kick their b –"

"YES! This is the part I've been waiting for since we started on this stupid trip! What's a rescue mission without butt kicking?" Puck's eyes lit up happily, showing that he was quite clearly ready to give out some master roundhouse kicks.

"Well, first we have to find Daphne – hey, what's going on over there?"

A few yards away, the huge front doors with the gold knockers had been thrown asunder so quickly that they nearly parted with their hinges. A gigantic brownish-gray blur burst out the door, bucking card soldiers and the creepy black creatures left and right. He was followed by a little girl in a red coat and dark brown pigtails, her face scrunched up in a funny little scowl and her arms in some position that looked like she was about to punch someone's lights out. Sabrina was forced to giggle, and she even saw Puck crack a smile. Of course.

"Way to go, Marshmallow! I knew you were the awesome one," he said, sticking his tongue out at Sabrina.

"What did you _do?" _Sabrina was incredulous.

"Well, big sis, let's just put it this way: in a few minutes, people will be coming out that door and they will be extremely mad at us, so we should get out of here," Daphne said seriously.

"What, you think I can't take 'em?" Puck growled.

"Um, I think it's time we split, like, _now," _Sabrina urged, eyeing the card soldiers and Darth Vader thingies spilling from the huge double doorway into the mansion. The chirping of late-night crickets was drowned by their angered shouting. She could feel her blood beginning to race once more.

"What do we do?" Puck said rather frantically. "I can't carry two piggies and a gigantic dog!"

Of course, being Sabrina, she came up with a crazy, split second idea. "Daphne," she said. "Can Elvis carry you on his back?"

"I dunno, probably," said Daphne. "Wait, I know what you want me to do – that would be so _cool_!"

"Climb on Elvis's back and get out as fast as you can," Sabrina said. "We'll meet you in that meadow we were in. Do you know where it is?" She blushed a bit at the thought of that particular meadow…

"I think so," Daphne smirked.

"Then go there NOW!" shouted Puck, green eyes wide as he saw the guards steadily decreasing the distance between themselves and the Grimms.

The card soldiers were sprinting, Sabrina noticed, but the DV thingies were lagging behind. Somehow a sprint would have seemed too ordinary and un-deathly on them. Instead they glided in a dignified manner.

Daphne responded by leaping on the Great Dane's back. Other than yelping lightly, he seemed unharmed and immediately galloped behind the nearest hedge, carting Daphne into the woods at a speed that only a crazed, anxious Great Dane could achieve.

This was where it got harder.

"Puck!" she shouted, heart racing as the first card soldiers reached the two.

PPOV

Puck didn't bother to respond before he snatched her up by the arms and hauled her into the air, insect wings out and flapping furiously. He then proceeded to throw her up and catch her with one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. There. Much more secure. Unfortunately, a card soldier managed to catch a firm grip on his ankle, the one that was still slightly tender from the dragon's burn. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the sting, he resorted to what he did best – cracking wise.

"Is that all you wimps can do? Poke me and pinch at me and grab my ankles? Seriously, I –"

He was cut off as the soldier reached up and smacked the daylights out of the poor fairy with the flat of his sword. The pain was excruciating for the first second, and he was sure that the edge of the sword had drawn blood. His hands instinctively reached for his back as he doubled over in midair.

Just in time to see Sabrina plummet awkwardly into the masses, landing wrong on her left ankle.

SPOV

At first, hitting the ground simply knocked the wind out of her. Then, a sickening crack sounded, and sharp agony ripped through Sabrina's ankle as suddenly as a hot iron burns the skin. This was no burn, though. It was a break.

"OY!" she screamed, to stunned to string actual syllables together, gasping for breath and relief that would not come.

Puck leaped to the ground and gave a royal butt kick each to the card soldiers descending on her. She heard a frantic voice whispering through the haze of pain and the torture in her ankle. "I didn't mean to, Grimm! I didn't mean to drop you, I really didn't!"

"Ankle," she grunted, feeling tears begin to well in her eyes and seal her throat with stickiness, though she tried to maintain her bravest angry face.

If white hot pain wasn't ripping through her lower leg, she might have laughed at his concern. She'd never heard him express anything greater than nonchalance when danger slapped her in the face and he was called in to be Superman. But for now the pain was clouding her brain and she didn't care a miniscule bit.

By some miracle, Puck was able to kick aside card soldiers fast enough to snatch Sabrina up into the air, awkwardly cradling her like a ragdoll, which she basically was with that ankle.

By clenching her teeth and looking around, the pain was a bit more bearable, and she noticed something curious – the weird, cloaked creatures that reminded her of Darth Vader or dementors were all lagging behind the screeching card soldiers, moving sluggishly and pointlessly. It unnerved her a bit, seeing as she couldn't understand it.

The sun was still far from rising as Sabrina succumbed to exhaustion. Deciding that a little more awkwardness couldn't cause much harm, she rested her head on the fairy boy's shoulder and drifted off to sleep in midair.

**Next chapter will come faster, I swear. I would have continued this longer, but I thought six pages on a Word document was quite enough. LONGEST CHAPTER EVER, at 2,628 words. My treat because I made you wait. The next one or the one after will be tying up some loose ends and tastefully concluding my tale **** Also, in my opinion, I've gotten more and more OOC. If I have, could you give me tips for getting more in character?**


	19. In Which a Plan is Formed

**Okay, guys! Thanks for all the reviews. Thanks a million to Pink-and-Green Jellybean, impulse22, SEcretive, RockSuperstar, .Fireflies.x3, Alydrial, SabrinaDaphne13, and my buddies Tazzy, Mackenzie, and Lara D, who have been reviewing since the second chapter! No worries, Impulse22. I shall most definitely continue for another couple chapters. And SD13 and PG Jellybean, there shall be more Puckabrina and they will probably end up somewhere in the almost-together category.**

** Also, two more things. This will end up a little longer than expected, by a chapter or two. I can't say that makes me sad. Plus, I know I'm taking a long time to update, but I don't really want to finish yet… and I'm lazy. But I'm not a quitter, so even if it takes a long, long time, I will continue the story. And it probably won't take a long, long time. Just a sorta long time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm. I don't own Harry Potter either, but he lives under my bed and eats all our potato chips and cheese. Ron was under there too, but I forgot to feed them, and now it's only Harry for reasons I'm sure you can understand without the painful explanation.**

Sabrina awoke to three things: a bright pink cast on her ankle (apparently made by magic and already signed in purple marker by Daphne), a hyperactive Elvis bestowing slobbery kisses on her arms and face, and a shaggy blonde head peeking around the entrance of the cave.

"Well, good _morning,_ Sleeping Beauty."

"Isn't it? Because when I wake up after being dropped from midair and one of my limbs feels like someone ran it over with a truck, it's usually a nice start to the day." She gently shoved Elvis off her and pushed herself up into a sitting position against a boulder.

"Wouldn't you drop whatever you were holding if somebody hit you this hard?" He raised the back of his sweatshirt to reveal a nasty black and blue bruise dancing across his back. "Oh, wait, you drop things anyway."

"That's a nice booboo, fairyboy. Would you like me to kiss it and make it better?" she tried very hard to hide her wince at the obviously painful injury. Elvis whimpered softly.

"Who wants to get kissed by an ugly witch?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it a few days ago." The memory brought a hint of redness to her cheeks, but not really in a bad way…

A dark head popped out from behind a blushing Puck and squealed. "Oh my gosh, Sabrina, you're awake! Puck told me about your ankle and everything, and check out the cast I made you – are you okay?"

"Not really," Sabrina said, grinning as her sister stumbled over and drowned her in a warm hug. "But I think I'll survive. We need to get home as quickly as possible."

As the last traces of red vanished from Puck's face, he sauntered in and plopped unceremoniously next to the sisters. "We're getting there – that's what the Marshmallow was talking to me about out there."

Daphne went on to explain that because the front door was the only entrance to the house, the Scarlet Hand had no reason to guard the back. Unfortunately, sneaking through a window in the back wouldn't work because attracting the attention of someone inside to unlock it would be loud enough to attract the attention of the Hand, and breaking it was impossible because of the protections placed on the house. But if someone were to create a huge diversion and grab the attention of the villains, the Grimms could sneak around and inside the front. It was risky and not surefire, but it was the best chance they had.

"I'll do the distracting," Puck cut in. "I can get away easily. I'll just turn into a mouse or whatever and get to the door before they can catch me."

"But a field mouse can be trampled," said Daphne. "What can you turn into that's faster and smaller?"

"I don't know, maybe a bumblebee."

"Then go with that," replied Sabrina. "They can fly, and you'll be so small that any non-magical weapons will be useless."

"Except for, like, a fly swatter."

"Yeah, because when I take on a fairy and two girls, my first concern is whether I've got a fly swatter. Really, I think you'll be fine."

Elvis punctuated the statement with a happy groan as Daphne rubbed his belly.

"But wait," Puck said suddenly. "Unless I'm mistaken, you won't be doing much walking for now. How will you get in the house? I don't know if Elvis can hold _you _up."

Daphne appeared to have already decided on a solution, because she simply whipped out the wand and waved it.

A brand new pair of apparently fully functional crutches appeared right before Sabrina's eyes.

"Voila," Daphne said, smiling. "I wanted to heal your ankle, but I'm afraid I'll botch it up and make it worse. So just stick with these for now."

"Good thinking, Marshmallow," said Puck.

"Well, you're forgetting one thing," said Sabrina skeptically. "What exactly will you do to distract the Scarlet Hand? One of them will turn around eventually and notice us sneaking right through the door. And besides, it's not realistic to think they'll all come after just Puck and not even think about us."

"That's where Elvis comes in," said Daphne mischievously.

*.*.*

Sabrina plopped herself down beside the entrance in precisely the same spot where she'd been kissed just days ago. She quickly put the memory out of her mind and sat back against a boulder.

And then sat right back up again. "Puck!" she called back into the cave.

"What, Ugly?" She heard the slapping of his sneakers on the gravel as he emerged with his eyes wide.

"Why is there a cave here anyway? I mean, caves are formed from running water and stuff! Somebody could be tricking us – "

"Chill out, Grimm! You're in Ferryport Landing, things happen for no apparent reason."

"But – "

"If you must know, Glinda the Good Witch and Morgan Le Fay owed me a favor a few years ago – well, to be honest, I wouldn't stop egging their houses – and so they made me this place to get me out of their area of town. You know, protection from the elements and all that. We're about two minutes away from the place where my garbage dump is." He smiled as if proud of himself.

"Oh…so that's how you knew it was here." Okay then. That wasn't weird at all…

"Yup."

Sabrina felt as if now was her cue to limp back inside the shelter of the cave on her crutches, but it was so much work to hoist herself up again that she elected to endure the awkward silence.

"Are you nervous, Ugly?" He grinned teasingly.

"Are you?"

"I'm the Trickster King. I don't get nervous."

"Then neither am I." But she was – she was terrified. What if the plan didn't work? There was a frightening chance that it would fail, in which case they would be out of luck and probably killed – the Hand was learning to prevent their former mistakes from repeating themselves.

"Really, Grimm, I know you better than that. You are a picky eater, hilariously stubborn, and you freak out quite easily, especially when your sister is put in danger or you wake up with one of my best concoctions in your hair."

"If you were me, you would understand. Unfortunately, as you are, you don't understand much."

"That's rude."

"You're rude."

"Not rude; I'm truthful."

"That's one way to put it."

"So you're definitely nervous."

"Very."

"Look at me, Grimm. If I'm going to be reassuring, I want you to get the full effect and I want you to appreciate it."

Not bothering to argue, Sabrina turned her head to face him and stared skeptically at his slightly upturned nose. "Go ahead," she said.

"This is going to work," he said seriously. "It has to work. If we stop to doubt it, we'll get chicken and never get home. So don't tell me you're afraid it won't work, because I will just keep telling you to quit doubting my awesomeness." He cracked a jokingly arrogant smile, eyes regaining their normal twinkle. Sabrina would never have admitted it, but his words made her feel more secure than she'd felt since she left home.

"You call it awesomeness, I call it stupidity," she retorted, but she was forced to accompany it with a genuine smile. He ducked and stared directly into her eyes.

"It will be okay," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"I won't," she said quietly.

"Good." He grinned again and hugged her tightly, much to her surprise. For some inexplicable reason, something warm and churning bubbled up in her stomach, and as he pulled away, she almost mourned the loss of the embrace.

"Uh…"

"I did not mean to do that."

"Aliens invading your brain?"

"You got it."

Both giggled nervously and turned slightly red.

**Tell me what you're thinking about my work, please. |**

** \/ There's a convenient arrow pointing at it.**


	20. Grief

**Wow, this is the second chapter today! I just posted the last one, when I remembered that somebody wanted a look in at the Grimm house, so I wrote this one to show you how everyone is doing over there. It's in Henry's POV. I find him to be an interesting character.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Sisters Grimm.**

It had been a few days since Henry had blasted out of the house on foot to find the three missing family members and discovered the Scarlet Hand nestled in the surrounding forest. He and Jake had originally devised a plan to come after the children, but their hopes were cruelly dashed as they scurried frantically back into the house with minor injuries and a lack of options,

The days dragged on.

Henry was at the end of his rope.

He wanted his little girls back. He felt an overwhelming urge to scalp the people who dared to entertain the notion that they could get away with taking his little Daphne.

Sabrina. She'd endangered her life to pursue her little sister, which was admittedly heroic in the best kind of way, but he couldn't lose her too. He fervently wished that he and his family were back in New York City, Veronica cheery and motherly as always and Sabrina not so jaded and cynical and Daphne innocent as when she was five. He longed for his children to grow up without being mixed up in the Grimm business.

He was so proud of his daughters, though. They were survivors. They were resilient and brave and wonderful. He wanted his daughters back. He wanted never to let them go.

Please, God, he thought. Don't take them away from me now – I just got them back. I just want to have my little girls back. My children.

Veronica was equally distraught. Every night Henry heard her sobbing into the pillow, and every morning she awoke bleary-eyed and only half conscious. She no longer smiled or laughed or soothed. She simply mourned. He could do nothing to comfort her.

Relda's food became increasingly salty as she wearily cried over her pots and pans. She buried herself in books and journals, searching for some answer, some hopeful clue hinting that her grandchildren and Puck and Elvis could be alive somewhere. She spent the majority of her time shaking her head sadly and peering anxiously out of the window, searching for the three figures and a large dog crossing the lawn. It broke Henry's heart to see her break down like this.

He felt a strange gratefulness toward Puck. For all his teasing and pranking and irritating ways, Henry would never forget that he had put himself in danger to hopefully find his daughters. He saw him stare after his eldest daughter with a sort of spark in his eye, and that spark inexplicably set Henry's teeth on edge. But he respected the obnoxious boy for possessing the courage to put himself in harm's way for a mortal girl he met no more than a year ago.

And somewhere, in Henry's heart, a bud of hope spread its fragile petals. Somehow he knew that things would end well. He tried to squash that simple flower, because it felt traitorous to be calm in the face of this crisis, but he found himself instead taking shelter in the thought that maybe, just maybe, his children would make it back to him.

**Next couple chapters coming up soon. Review.**


	21. Executing the Plan

**CHAPTER 21! We're almost finished. Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I have multiple announcements:**

** 1: I have opened a forum for the Sisters Grimm. It's called Limegreen's Forum for the Obsessive Writer. Please drop in and leave a comment.**

** 2: That's pretty much it.**

**I do not own the Sisters Grimm.**

The weary little band of odd heroes set out that night when the twilit sky turned pink and gold. It was a tentative sunset, one full of hopes and uncertainties, but not as forbidding and strange as the night before. Perhaps it was because Sabrina had a clear view of the open sky gleaming on her (ahem) bulky pink cast.

Sabrina feared that her sleep patterns were horribly out of order, because the incessant drowsiness falling over her lifted its veil ever so slightly when the sky streaked itself with the traces of night. It was going to be quite irritating when she could no longer drift off to sleep before early in the morning if, after the grueling past few days, she finally got home. _No, _she thought. _Not if. When I get home. When. _She knew – and Puck had said – that if she lost hope, they were sure to fail. She was taking that to heart, despite the fact that it had been Puck who had said it.

"Ready, Grimm?"

"You've asked her that five times, and you probably asked me just as many times," Daphne replied, smirking slightly. "If you don't just get us up in the air, she'll kill you. Painfully. She's clearly tense."

"Tense is the understatement of the year," Puck teased. "Try strained. Utterly nervous. Drowning in anticipation."

"I know you did not stick your gummy fingers in my thesaurus," Sabrina said, making no move to smile or dispute his taunting.

"I'm allergic to books, remember? I'm just so awesome that I have selective intelligence."

"Just pick us up and get us out," Sabrina said.

"Where's Elvis? Did he get set up where he was supposed to be?" Daphne's demeanor changed to a nervous stance as she thought of the dog.

"I did that fifteen minutes ago." Puck said confidently.

"How'd you get a dog to do this, anyway?" Sabrina questioned, wondering how on earth such a large, frantic animal could be persuaded and/or trained to participate in their scheming.

"Elvis is much smarter than a normal dog," Daphne beamed. "And of course my little baby puppy was persuaded with some sausage…"

"YOU DID NOT!"

"Oh, yes. Yes I did."

"No."

"Yes. You can't deny him something he's already been promised."

"Oh yeah? Watch me!"

"GIRLS!" Puck shouted, looking irritated and running a hand through his mess of wavy curls. "I cannot wear out my voice right now! Don't get into any arguments or I will have to stun you with my good looks!"

"As if you had any. Shut up, Puck," Sabrina said, feeling that joking was most definitely not appropriate at the moment. It was time to get to work.

When Daphne waved the wand, Sabrina felt a shiver of longing, no doubt due to her addiction, but was thankfully distracted by the fact that she could no longer see her toes, cast, or crutches, for that matter.

She was invisible.

"COOL!" Exclaimed Puck. "This takes pranks to a whole new level."

"It really is gravy," said Daphne, using one of her old words. "But I've never done that before, so there's no telling if I did it right. I hope it holds." Neither of the others could see it, but she stuffed the wand deep into her pocket for safety. "Here's the hard part," she said. "Now we have to fly there."

"What's hard about that, Marshmallow? I don't have to see my wings to fly…oh. Now I get it. Awkward."

"What is he talking about?" Sabrina demanded, not comprehending the situation for a second.

"Let's put it this way, Ugly," chuckled Puck. "Put down your crutches and try to grab me around the neck."

Oh. Crap. Didn't see that coming.

"Puck," she said in a level tone, leaning her crutches against the wall of the cave and stumbling forward on her cast. She regained her balance and inched forward. "Raise your arms above your head and keep them there."

"What?"

"I said raise your arms. There's less chance of it getting awkward if I'm the one with my arms out in front of me. Get the drift?"

"Vaguely." He blushed, thankful to be invisible.

Daphne laughed. "You two are the funniest."

After a blessedly low number of mishaps, most involving only hair, ankles, and Puck's bruised back, they managed to haul themselves into the air.

The sky was an entrancing shade of midnight blue when they landed at the back of the Grimm house, taking the utmost care to produce no sound and using magical protection to muffle any giveaway noises. Really, Sabrina thought, the plan was so sketchy already (and indeed it was a rather precarious plan) that they could afford to take no chances whatsoever. She and Daphne sat with their backs flat against the wall of the backside of the house – the lack of a back door played a key part in the plan. Since there was no entrance or large window to enter through, the Hand saw no reason to guard the back, as far as they knew. So any unusual rustling, scratching, irate whispering, or snickering would be almost undetectable.

"Hey," Puck whispered so quietly that Sabrina barely realized he'd said anything. "Where are your crutches?"

"Oops. Left them in the cave. I'll just have to lean on Daphne." She was careful to keep her voice nearly imperceptible. She explained to Daphne, and, moving forward with the plan, Puck took off into the air.

Sabrina watched the spot where Puck should be flying back in the other direction. She could make out a slight whooshing sound when his invisible wings beat the air – nothing too risky, but slightly comforting.

And they waited for the signal.

It was a long time in coming. They had decided (well, Sabrina had executively decided and the others had decided to just go along) that Puck should fly in the opposite direction, go around the long way, and make sure Elvis was ready. He'd been turned invisible too, for his own safety and so the plan would be more convincing. It would be hard to work around a large Great Dane visibly bursting forward and giving away the whole thing. Their biggest concern had been that the presence of humans would alert the dragons. In a blessed fit of luck, the Scarlet Hand had not bothered to send another dragon to replace the two killed by Puck. Perhaps they were all needed at the battlefront with Charming.

At last, a loud voice burst into the clearing in front of the house, modified to the best of our dear fairy's abilities. He'd somehow discovered to use his magical abilities to make his voice deeper and more ominous – not by much, but enough so that the Hand would be less suspicious right off the bat.

"Members of the Scarlet Hand!"

Sabrina felt a shift in the atmosphere. Clearly, the villains surrounding her house were gearing up for an ambush at a moment's notice. It seemed to be an instinct for them.

"Who goes there?" Boomed a deep voice. It could belong to an ogre, a troll, maybe a card soldier, with some stretch of the imagination. All Sabrina was certain of was that so far the plan was progressing quite nicely. It was too early to make any predictions, though.

"Who goes there, you ask me? I am your worst nightmare." Puck said malevolently. Sabrina felt the need to bang her head against the brick wall – of course Puck would pick now to go all cheesy-movie on everybody. Still, the group hidden in the forest seemed not to notice the cliché. Unluckily, not all of them were as dimwitted as card soldiers, and continued to question the danger Puck claimed to bring.

"How dare you attempt to intimidate us? We serve the master" (Sabrina cringed, thinking of Mirror) "and we will pound you into a pulp. Do not provoke us." The mystery voice was laced with a certain intelligence that many of the nincompoops in the Scarlet Hand most certainly lacked. It was a growling, dangerous voice. One you wouldn't want to cross in person.

"YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?" Puck's voice rang clear and loud, as though he spoke through a megaphone. The noise sent footsteps racing inside the walls of the magically reinforced Grimm house, which Sabrina heard very faintly. The noise sent her heart into a pounding, hopeful rhythm. She prayed silently that no one would try to come outside. Please God, keep them safe. Just until we can get inside. She nearly missed the reply of the deep voice.

"I do not dare challenge you. The whole army challenges you. I would like to see you fight off every one of us. Clearly, you are a coward anyway, considering you will not show us your face."

"I AM NO COWARD, SAVAGE CREATURE! I AM THE TRICK – I mean, I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN ONE BY ONE!" A most fortunate crack of thunder accentuated his fury. Funny. She hadn't noticed any clouds in the sky before, but looking up, the sky contained huge black thunder clouds crowding out the light of the moon.

"How do you plan on doing that?" The creature's voice was cold and calculating.

"I have brought with me a creature of the most fearsome kind. I am not afraid to use it." Puck was playing his part exceptionally well.

"What is the name of this creature?"

"It's a JABBERWOCKY!"

That was Elvis's cue. Lightning cracked the sky off in the horizon, and the "Jabberwocky," concealed in the forest, let out a deadly, chilling growl before the consequent boom of thunder. It was something like that warning growl that he'd uttered when he'd sensed Nottingham in the forest that fateful day not long ago, except magically magnified so he could remain a greater distance from the attackers.

Sabrina almost felt the electricity of Daphne's ear-to-ear grin. She'd trained her "baby" well. Even Sabrina had to agree. It didn't hurt that Elvis was exceptionally intelligent.

This was the sketchy part. If the Hand assembled at the front of the yard to defend themselves against the "Jabberwocky," which she prayed they would, then they might be able to make it to the front door without anyone noticing their noise and slamming of the front door. If they didn't buy it, chances of not being noticed were slimmer, and if the invisibility spell wore off, they were definite goners. Somehow, she knew that the next time they were kidnapped, execution would be speedier and there would be a good deal less time to escape. She waited with bated breath.

"What? No one brave enough to fight? Oh, well then. Die on your own terms."

No. No. Not good.

The sound of tentative footsteps trampling the grass. Faster and harder. Creatures rustling branches as they left the cover of the trees, drawing clubs and swords.

"THAT'S RIGHT, COME AND FIGHT!"

Yes. Yes. That was the second signal. She groped for Daphne's arm, and once she found it, they stood together with some difficulty. The first steps around the side of the house were as silent as they could be and extremely tentative.

Sabrina heard her sister faintly suck in her breath as she saw the pale shapes of the Hand assembling near Elvis's location in the trees, worried for her canine friend. Luckily, none had looked back, and she assumed the invisibility was still functioning. She couldn't see Daphne. Granted, not much was visible in the now clouded sky, lit by the occasional lightning bolt. The thunder grew deafening and more frequent. She tried her hardest to remain calm and limp onward. She despised thunder with a passion.

"Where is this Jabberwocky? Bring him out!"

"Yeah, where is he? Are you bluffing with us?"

"YOU DARE DOUBT MY WORD?"

Halfway there. Almost to the steps.

"Bring him out!"

"Liar!"

At that moment a huge lightning bolt split the sky not a mile away. The thunder was loud enough to blow out an eardrum, and the rain cascaded from the sky within a second.

Sabrina let out an involuntary yell, causing some of the Hand members to look back. She, along with Daphne, was one hundred percent visible.

**Drop by my forum! Review! Eat cheese! Blah blah blah! **


	22. Disaster Strikes Yet Again

**I am fully aware that I am a horrible, terrible writer for not updating in several months. But I'm back at it and this story will be finished ASAP.**

**Thank you to all the reviewers! I feel like I have betrayed you T_T.**

**Happy New Year.**

**Okay. Here we go:**

It didn't get much worse than this – standing in the pouring rain, lightning splitting the sky. Facing down her enemies with a useless leg and nowhere to run. Knowing that her sister was as likely to die as she.

Her stomach dropped out from under her in a single, solitary second that felt like a whole eternity, cliché as that was. It felt like far more than the actual second that was before they were being charged by furious, deadly creatures with weapons and no qualms against murder.

Daphne lunged ahead, fast and strong for an eight-year-old, dragging Sabrina with her. Sabrina hauled her broken ankle along, but her sister was inevitably slowed by the unconquerable drag. The Hand was charging across the lawn already, and they'd taken two steps before Sabrina shouted over the deafening roar, "Leave me! Get to the door, Daphne!"

"NO! They'll get you!" They were less than a hundred yards away…please, please, please. Don't let this happen again.

Fifty feet away.

Ten.

"GO NOW!" As she threw herself to the ground and looked up at her sister, Sabrina felt her whole face blaze with desperation, and Daphne's eyes widened. She turned around one last time and threw her whole body into top gear just as the first goons reached her heels.

Too late.

"NO!"

It was like watching a horror movie in slow motion. Surreal. A large, warty creature clouted her over the head with a club, and she fell to the ground like a rag doll. They abandoned the fallen child and turned to charge at the injured girl in the other direction.

"Daphne…" Sabrina's voice was stolen from her vocal cords. She felt huge, hot tears spilling down her sweaty face, the cool rain seeping through her clothes.

She let her vision fade to a blur and her wet blonde hair fall over her face. Rough, cruel hands tore at her hair and through her over the shoulder of some huge creature.

She screamed for Puck, but he couldn't reach her – he was fighting as hard as he could and just barely keeping himself in the air. She screamed for Daphne. She screamed again and again until the biggest troll raised his club over her head and it was getting closer and she was going to die please don't let me die I'm not ready to die don't let them kill me –

"NOT MY DAUGHTER!" A baseball bat smashed brutally into the face of the troll, knocking him backward. Someone grabbed her by the back of her jacket, hauled her up, and began to run with her. She stared up at her rescuer.

"Daddy."

"Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear? Oh, thank goodness you're alive…" and Sabrina had to agree.

But the soldiers were closing in. Jake appeared, bashing and kicking and throwing glowing lockets and charmed powders everywhere.

"Get her to the door, Henry!" Uncle Jake screamed, tossing a something at the Hand that exploded in a burst of noxious smoke.

Henry dashed for the porch like dear life depended on it, because in fact it did. The troll was on their heels, card soldiers and other monsters following behind. By some miracle, the dazed troll was unable to catch up and Henry crossed the last porch step just as the troll was stopped by the protections surrounding the house. He deposited her safely on the porch swing, where the Scarlet Hand had no way to reach her.

Sabrina watched with baited breath and a pounding heart as he jumped frantically back into the mix to help Jake, who was just barely holding off the Everafters, pull Daphne to safety. Puck was pulling at limbs, kicking and flying, all taunting and joking aside. Between the two of them, he and Jake held off the trolls, card soldiers, and other Hand members while Henry grabbed Daphne and ran for the house. Jake threw up as many magical shields as he was capable of. Her eyelids grew heavy as red haze clouded her vision and she fought to stay awake.

And as the world faded away, she realized the only place things could go now was up.


	23. Clean

**This chapter is fluffier than the last few. **

**A WARNING: I uploaded the last chapter and this one very close together. If you haven't read chapter 22 yet, I would suggest that you go and do that, if only so this will make sense. Thanks to Dreamgreen16, who reminded me to update and is awesome for it, and to Lara D and tulip meadow for being my reviewers for chapter 22 so far. **

**I don't own the Sisters Grimm.**

"Sabrina…"

Sabrina hurt all over. Her sore leg itched beneath the cast. Her limbs were tired and aching as if she'd spent her whole life holding up the sky.

She thought maybe she was on a bed. She felt soft, clean material beneath her skin, like a cloud after all those nights on the hard ground.

Daphne and Puck. Were they alive? Were they all right?

"Sabrina, baby, wake up now." The voice calling her back to consciousness was soothing, sweet. She smelled something like cinnamon, almost as if she was back at home in New York…

"Come on, honey, it's time to open your eyes."

The figure standing over her came into view slowly, like a picture under a microscope while you adjust the lens over and over again. Gradually, her mother's gentle face came into focus, stained with the evidence of tears.

"Mom."

"Sabrina!" Her mother reached over and hugged her so hard that she was sure her lungs were being cut off. But she squeezed back, never complaining. She hugged her mother as hard as her weak, tired, dirty arms could manage to squeeze.

Her mother began to sob into her shoulder, and she couldn't stop a gush of tears from suddenly flowing down her own cheeks…she'd been through too much.

"Where are Puck and Daphne?" She asked through her sobs, fearing the worst. Her heart sped up again into that all too familiar pounding rhythm.

"We think Daphne has a concussion, but we hope she'll be alright. Puck is downstairs. He's been asking about you since the moment we brought you in." She smiled sadly.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Two hours, but you're going back to sleep as soon as you're clean and you've eaten."

"Gladly." She could feel the grit in her tangled hair, the mud caked on her jeans and in her armpits and behind her ears. She needed a bath badly.

Veronica helped Sabrina to sponge off with warm water, soap. It took half an hour to comb out her dirty, tangled hair and then wash it. Her cast, however, presented an entirely different dilemma. "When you've slept some more, we'll see if Uncle Jake has some of that salve left over. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let your leg heal naturally right now. And besides, we can't clean inside it," Veronica lamented.

Suddenly she did a double take. "How did you get a cast anyway?"

"Daphne. She's amazing with a wand."

"Oh." Veronica relaxed and turned on the faucet to rinse the shampoo from Sabrina's hair. Taking a towel from the rack, she wrapped up her daughter's head and handed her a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt. Oh. My. Gosh. She wanted to wear clean clothes like she'd never wanted anything before.

Veronica looked her daughter in the eyes and firmly said, "You better thank your lucky stars for that boy. He cares a lot for you, and to hear him tell it you needed him a lot out there."

"Yes I did. There, I admitted it."

"Good. But I mean it – he's really so crazy about you, you can tell."

"Mom!" Sabrina blushed.

The bed was very warm and soft, and she drifted off to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

_She was standing in front of a casket surrounded by flowers – daisies, roses, daffodils, hyacinths, and every other kind imaginable. She was surrounded by crying people – Puck, Granny, Jake, her parents, Canis, and so on. She had no idea who had died, just that she was distraught._

_She crept closer to the box, disturbing none of the mourners, and peered inside._

_There lay Daphne, pale and sunken and broken, in her best Sunday dress._

She bolted awake, crying and hollering, because it was her fault, her fault Daphne was dead…her sweet little sister was gone.

"Grimm!" Puck burst in, wearing a white shirt and pajama pants. "What's up?"

"Daphne's dead, and it's all my fault," she sobbed. "I did it. It's my fault."

He came and sat on the bed, hugging her and smoothing her hair gently. She sobbed harder into his shoulder. "The marshmallow's not dead. She's not dead, Sabrina. She's in your parents' room, resting. She woke up an hour ago and asked for food, then went back to sleep." He began rocking her gently back and forth.

"She's not dead?"

"She's one hundred percent alive."

"Oh."

"I think you were having a nightmare."  
"I dreamed I was standing in front of her casket."

"It's okay, Grimm."

"I know that now."

"You're the reason she's alive."

"I'm the reason she's hurt."

"If you hadn't gone after her, they would have killed her. You're pretty brave. You're also the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life."

"You haven't met yourself," she laughed, hearing the nasal tone from the stuffiness in her nose.

"Do you want some hot milk or something like that? I hope not, because I can't use the microwave, and you've already soiled my reputation to the point that it's shredded and falling through my fingers."

"No, I don't need anything. No comment on the last part."

He chuckled quietly and sighed. "Goodnight, you sorry, stupid girl."

"Goodnight, you brainless, egotistical boy," she said quietly, wiping a tear away with her finger. He stood up, and she immediately wanted to be hugged again. But she also desperately wanted to go back to sleep. Besides, things had been weird enough with Puck as they were.

Puck pulled the door closed, shuffling off to his own room. He looked down at the tearstained wet spot on his shirt. "Love you," he whispered as softly as possible, looking back over his shoulder.


	24. Home is Where the Waffles Are

**Hey, guys. One more chapter after this – the epilogue – and we're done here. It's been a ton of fun writing this. It was the first story I ever posted, and I put it up back in March. **

**Thanks to all the awesome people who've been reviewing this story – all of you are appreciated. But there are a couple who read and reviewed from the very beginning and are still here, so I'd like to thank Lara D, Mackenzie (who isn't using that name anymore. LOL), and Dreamgreen16 (whose review reminded me that somebody wanted me to finish).**

Sunshine spilled through the window panes, casting a glow throughout the room.

"SABRINA!"

A dark haired girl burst through the door, literally slamming it against the wall, and ran for the bed.

Sabrina didn't actually realize this until she felt something heavy land on her stomach.

"OOMPH! Daphne!" she shouted, frustrated. Then the confusion cleared. "You're okay! Thank goodness!"

"I'm fine," the little girl chirped, "and we're home again! But my head hurts a lot. But I'm really still okay. It's not that bad."

"MARSHMALLOW!" Puck slammed the door against the wall for the second time. "You're supposed to be downstairs on the couch, resting. Right now. Your mom said so."

Daphne stuck her tongue out at Puck. Puck stuck his tongue out at Daphne. "Nice manners," Daphne said.

"You stuck your tongue out first," Sabrina argued.

"Touché," said Daphne. Sabrina looked oddly at her sister, wondering how she knew what it meant. Oh well.

Daphne skipped out the door and down the stairs.

"Everybody's downstairs, and you haven't even seen the old lady since we got home," Puck said.

"You're right," Sabrina said, remembering her family members. "But I can't really walk. Help me down?" she said, blushing slightly as she remembered hugging him last night.

"You really are hopeless," he said teasingly, rolling his eyes dramatically. But as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, noticing the dirt on her glaringly pink cast.

He lifted her up with some difficulty because of the cast and its weight.

It took a whole three minutes to get down the staircase, because Sabrina continuously yelled at Puck about dropping her.

"Not so fast, you idiot! I'm injured, and if you drop me I'll break my face!"

"I'm not going too fast! I swear I'm not gonna drop you, even though sometimes IT GETS PRETTY TEMPTING," he yelled back.

"You just try that!"

And on and on and on.

When they entered the living room, everyone was snickering. Daphne scooted over, clearing a spot on the couch for Puck and Sabrina. "Hey, look she brought her boyfriend," she said teasingly.

Everyone else erupted into laughter. Sabrina wondered just how much Daphne had let slip.

"Liebling!" Relda cried, recovering from the humor of the situation. "Thank goodness you're home!"

"You have so much explaining to do," said Henry firmly.

"I did it to save Daphne," Sabrina said. "I was afraid you wouldn't do anything.

Henry's face softened. "I would have tried to do something. I would have tried anything possible. But Jake and your Granny talked me into staying back and thinking about how to handle the situation so we could all get out alive. We were working on a plan that night after you went to bed."

"So it was all for nothing?" Sabrina was on the verge of tears.

"No!" Said Daphne from the other end of the couch.

"Absolutely not," said Jake. "You got her out, no matter how disobedient you were. You and Puck saved her life when we probably wouldn't have been able to, because we had no idea what to do. And when you and Puck left, we were simply stumped."

"Blind actions sometimes wield the best results," said Granny Relda wisely. "And those papers you stole from the Hand will be quite useful. The weird black things that Puck told us about were a failed experiment by the Hand to create magical drones. It went drastically wrong, and well, they aren't useful for much."

"You were very brave," piped Veronica, tearing up over on the love seat. "We love you very much, and we're just glad to have you all back. Sabrina, Daphne, _and _Puck."

"Even Henry?" Puck grinned, daring Henry to say something. Henry stared firmly at Puck, eye twitching slightly.

"Even Henry," he said finally. "Thank you for keeping my children safe." This caused Puck to puff up with pride.

"Sabrina, you're still tired, aren't you?" Veronica said, understanding the sluggish body language of her daughter.

Yes. She was tired. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, she is," Puck said.

"Well, I can't imagine how badly she slept on the run. Were you on the hard ground?"

"Actually," Daphne smirked knowingly, "I think she slept pretty well in the _dungeon._"

"Dungeon?" Henry looked horrified.

"Like I said," Daphne replied slyly. "She slept okay there."

Sabrina then realized that beneath the unicorn pajamas, her sister wasn't much of an angel.

"I'll take her back to her room," Puck said, struggling to lift her again.

"But I made waffles!" Jake looked disappointed.

"WAFFLES?" The boy dropped her on her butt and sprinted for the kitchen.

"PUCK!" She waved her fists and screamed. "Thanks so much!"

"You're welcome," he called from the kitchen.

After a heaping plate of waffles with syrup and butter, Sabrina lay awake for several hours.

Absolutely, she was sleepy. The bags dwelling beneath her blue eyes answered that question quite bluntly. But she had a lot of thinking to do. What had been a simple idea of trying to save Daphne had become a confusing, weird revelation.

One, she could do so much more than she thought. At first the plan had been "get Daphne out or die trying." But slowly success had taken shape and she'd actually done it – in the absolute craziest manner possible. She didn't quite know if she'd ever get over it.

But Daphne was home, and just that thought sent to rest a longtime ache in the pit of her stomach, the one that rarely quieted down. Thank goodness.

Second, Puck.

Wow…where to start? Obviously, they couldn't pull the whole I-hate-your-guts routine any longer. Neither of them would believe it.

The clock ticked quietly, counting off the seconds

What were they? Friends? Friends didn't put each other down every second they got and then suddenly kiss. Enemies didn't do that either. Neither did boyfriends and girlfriends. Besides, whatever he was to her, boyfriend sounded cheesy.

She had a lot to figure out about him. He had lots of sides, and for some reason, in a real predicament, his best side always came through. There was the side that was always out to protect her, the side that constantly tormented her, and the side where he was her best – and only – friend.

She didn't have the energy to think about it now. She'd pull a Scarlett O'Hara and handle it tomorrow. Something had to change, but she knew it would take care of itself one way or another, and she could handle it. She could deal with whatever change in dynamic was about to make itself known.

For now, she pulled the blankets up to her chin, the lingering taste of butter and syrup on her tongue.

Daphne was safe, Puck was safe, she was alive and well, and her family was there.

She drifted off slowly, letting sleep claim her tired eyes.

After all, they'd all be there when she woke up.


	25. Epilogue: Battleships and Fluff

**This is the last chapter, the epilogue. Thanks for sticking with me all the way to here. Love you all!**

**I'm working on a new story, which I'll publish as soon as I have enough written that you won't have to go through the long time between chapter posts. It has to do with Sabrina, moving, school, and meeting a very weird boy from a very weird town. Do the math.**

**I do not own the Sisters Grimm.**

It seemed like nature was balancing out the chilly, wintry spring with a blazing, sunny summer. Sabrina, with her broken ankle healed and back to normal, was outside almost every day, picking ripe blackberries off the bushes outside Granny Relda's house and lounging on the porch swing in a tee shirt and raggedy cutoff shorts.

The Hand was being severely beaten back, and Charming's newly empowered military kept them far off the property of the Grimms. Everyone was saying the war would be over soon – and it looked like that would be true.

Daphne had recovered from her concussion, scrapes, and bruises, and she'd shot up like a weed in the course of a few months. She was taller, sunburned, and rosy cheeked, running around without a care.

"You two," she shouted, cartwheeling across the lawn. "Watch this!"

"Not now, Marshmallow," Puck said, concentrating on his board. "I'm trying to defeat the evil blonde one."

"He thinks," said Sabrina, smirking across at him. "He doesn't have a chance."

"C four," Puck remarked triumphantly.

"Miss," she smirked again. "B seven."

"Hit," he groaned over his Battleship board. "You sank my last one, dangit!"

"Don't feel too bruised," she said. "You sank my little tiny boat, remember?" She cackled and rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain. Obviously she wasn't actually trying to cushion his loss.

Neither one noticed the bored eight-year-old's steps beating the wooden floor as she ran back into the house.

"I'm done with this stupid game," Puck huffed, kicking away his board and stretching his arms. Sabrina heaved herself off the floor and settled on the porch steps. Puck sat on the one above hers and began to periodically tug at her low ponytail.

Puck had undergone a change nobody had seen coming. He was suddenly less a rival, and more – surprisingly – a friend. They played board games, and she even read him a book occasionally, even though afterward he would dramatically proclaim his allergy to books.

But he still really wanted to know if Edward would come back to Bella before she jumped off that cliff and drowned, which was where Sabrina had left off in New Moon.

Sabrina had changed too. She had learned to deal with him using much more efficient methods, like simply walking off and leaving him stumped in the middle of an argument.

But for some reason, she didn't always feel like arguing with him anymore. In fact, he was much easier to be around, at least from her point of view. Or maybe she had loosened up a little. No one was quite sure.

There were other things, too.

Like how after one of his increasingly frequent showers, the sight of him almost made her fall over. He was getting cuter than ever. Unfortunately, he seemed to notice that and pointed out to the world whenever Sabrina stared at him. Everybody knew he liked it though, and everybody made sure to remark whenever they saw him staring, wide-eyed, at her back.

Either way, something in their dynamic had dramatically shifted. They both felt that, after everything was said and done, they'd helped each other through way too many difficult situations to pretend to be mortal enemies. Neither was quite sure what was different. Both were trying not to over think the situation.

Now, Sabrina sat very still on the step, shoulder tingling because his elbow was very close to it. She shrugged it off and moved to the porch swing, which was bound to be more comfortable. Of course he followed her.

The sun was setting over the hills, and the sky burned red and orange like it never had before, that she'd seen. It was breathtaking, and she enjoyed staring out at the perfect sky.

Daphne, who had gone inside an hour or so earlier, had left her battered copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lying on the swing. Sabrina had read this book three times.

She flipped to the last page, propping her feet in Puck's lap. He wouldn't push them off, she knew.

In the dimming light, she mused at the last line: _The scar had not pained him in nineteen years. All was well. _It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful book.

"Puck," she said. "Remind me to read you the Harry Potter books sometime."

"Okay," he said, pretending to sigh. "Will I like them?"

"Yeah, you will," she laughed.

He stared at the sunset for another moment before speaking again. "How long has it been? Three months?"

"Nearly four," she said, reeling at how fast time had flown by her. "I still think about it every day, though."

"Me too," he said. "We changed, I guess."

"We did. I'm not sure what changed."

"I don't know either. But it's not so bad." He punctuated the remark by grabbing her hand, which took her by surprise.

But they were beyond shoving each other away by now.

"No…" She stared at the sky, which was now rapidly becoming a dark, solemn blue. The woods were alive with the late chirps of birds and crickets.

He was looking at her funnily.

Suddenly, he leaned forward and gave her a very soft kiss. For some reason, she felt like it had been a long time in coming, not weird or unwarranted.

He pulled back and she stared at him curiously. She wasn't quite sure what to think…

Then he broke into a grin.

"_Lieblings_!" Relda's voice, calling through the open window, broke the quiet. "Dinner is on the table! Wash your hands!"

The last rays of red light washed over the house as she squeezed Puck's hand and slipped through the door into the house. She knew what she would find inside – a table full of those she loved, laughing happily at something one or another had said.

Because, she thought, all was well.

**Happy ending :D!:D!**

**This is my last author's note in this story…*tear* I'll be back soon. I have new ideas cooking in my demented brain XD**

**Okay. I may not post any new stories in SG for a little while, but I have a lot of little threads that may or may not become developed stories.**

**I have a new story that I've been working on that I really like. I'm not going to post it until it's pretty much finished to avoid the long times between updates. **

**My little sister is sitting next to me, reading Magic and Other Misdemeanors, just for the record. I knew we were related. **

**Well, I know this is a long AN, but it's really just that I have a lot to say. This story was a learning experience and very important to me. I'm glad I'm done, though, because I am OUT of plot twists.**

**Stay tuned and take care, **

**Limegreenwordmachine**


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